Performer: Raphaël Pichon

Tight orchestral playing, minimalist stage design: the conductor and director are perfectly in tune with each other, transforming Massenet's work into an intimate and timeless drama.

The French conductor pairs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with several of the composer’s more obscure miniatures, performed alongside thematically related poetry.

Martin Kušej gives Mozart and Da Ponte's commedia per musica a sinister mafia setting, which is low on laughs but outstandingly performed, led by Lea Desandre's charismatic Cherubino.