Performer: Nicky Spence

The composer's final opera is virtually impossible to stage comfortably, but Sir Mark Elder makes a convincing case for more regular outings of its beautiful music

Opera Philadelphia commissions ten composers to tell the story of an ordinary woman's idiosyncratic march from cradle to tomb.

An entertaining portrayal of the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs is marred by ham-fisted amplification.

David Pountney's vernacular translation and Ruth Knight's vivid staging lent a thrilling immediacy to Shostakovich's chilling opera.

Damiano Michieletto’s production of Janáček’s opera breaks a key tenet of high-concept opera: where it should reveal, it obfuscates. 

This year celebrated Scottish tenor Nicky Spence returns to the BBC Proms to perform in Oberon – and at the Last Night. But how does he feel about all the flag-waving?

The leading US soprano talks about her experiences singing one of opera’s most devastating roles, which she takes to Brno this autumn.