Performer: Riccardo Fassi

Francesco Micheli reimagines Caterina Cornaro in a contemporary setting, switching to the historical past, to open this year’s Donizetti Opera festival in the composer’s home town.

Despite excellent performances from Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Elmina Hasan, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's new production of Norma lacks a pinch of salt. 

Giacomo Sagripanti’s live wire dynamics and keenly judged tempo choices keep this revival of Verdi's Il trovatore buoyant at Covent Garden. 

Deutsche Oper Berlin presents an uninspiring production by David Alden, with a solid cast led by Federica Lombardi. 

The ROF presents a new, cheeky production of Adelaide, by Arnaud Bernard, based on a unoriginal but very well executed “meta-theatrical” take, with an exemplary cast.

An impressive revival of Filippo Crivelli's 1998 production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, with a lively cast in Naples.