Performer: Marcello Giordani

Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera's staging for Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège is stolid in direction, but Speranza Scappucci breathes life into Verdi's drama from the pit. 

Quality singing impresses in Puccini's opera at the Hungarian State Opera, despite a dusty staging.

Too many paparazzi and not enough Puccini in Robert Carsen’s Manon Lescaut in Vienna.

Staatsoper Berlin revives its new production of Tosca with an excellent cast including a last minute substitution of the tenor.

Verdi’s Aida has been performed over 1,000 times at the Metropolitan Opera, making it the most commonly revived work after Puccini’s La bohème. Because Aida is so regularly programmed, I usually walk rather than run to see this opera.

Read our review of Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's Turandot in its 2009 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.