Performer: Oper Köln

Brett Dean's operatic reworking of Shakespeare's Hamlet receives its German premiere in a powerful new staging by the work's librettist Matthew Jocelyn.

Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes is a nuanced, gripping tale that should pack an emotional punch. Despite fine moments, Oper Köln's production didn't serve the work. 

This production fell just short of brilliance but showed how relevant and thought-provoking opera as an art form can be when tapping into today's headline debates.

Though straightforward in concept, Oper Köln's production of the one-act opera written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp brought the opera's profound themes to the surface in an excellently sung performance.

Oper Köln’s Orpheus in the Underworld proved age accessibility must not sacrifice humour and musical integrity. The tight ensemble piece was superbly acted and well-sung throughout.

In a temporary home, Cologne Opera have mounted a remarkably joyful production of Beethoven’s single, wonderful opera.