Performer: Miranda Keys

Kirill Petrenko’s second night at Carnegie Hall packed a punch as the orchestra of the Bayerische Staatsoper delved deep into Strauss’ score, supporting an impressive cast of singers.

Renée Fleming has decided the time is right to bow out gracefully from the operatic stage, choosing her signature role to bid the fondest of farewells to London.

Slick, surreal and creepy, with a strong cast of exciting young singers: it's hard to imagine a Turn of the Screw better than Glyndebourne's Jonathan Kent version, revived for their 2014 Tour by Francesca Gilpin. 

Who needs scenery anyway? A blistering Elektra from Semyon Bychkov, starring Christine Goerke, lights up the BBC Proms by sheer force of performance. 

Glyndebourne’s annual away day from Lewes to the heaving metropolis is always a highlight of the Proms season, but this year’s visit was more hotly anticipated than usual. 

The Hallé Orchestra, led by Sir Mark Elder, followed their award-winning 2009 Götterdämmerung with a concert performance of Die Walküre over two nights, prefaced by Gerard McBurney’s new work, The Madness of an Extraordinary Plan. With an array of famed soloists, Elder masterminded a triumph, with the magnificent Hallé showing their quality on the concert stage.