Performer: Natalia Tanasii

The Philharmonia and Garsington Chorus deliver great performances, as do Natalia Tanasii and Fleur Barron as the two Larina sisters.

An Elektra conducted like Mendelssohnian fairy music, sung not shouted, just as Strauss required.

Barrie Kosky’s production of Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten (The Branded) is in keeping with what was long considered one of the early 20th century’s most scandalous works. 

Apparently, the composer himself was a notorious cheater, we can assume that some of the unsavoury themes of his 1904 opera “Madame Butterfly” were close to the bone.

The revival of Calixto Bieito's Carmen in Oslo proves a bumpy ride, with uneven singing and orchestral playing, saved by Katarina Bradić's captivating portrayal of the title heroine.

Calixto Bieito's staging of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem is violent, shocking and uniquely powerful.