Performer: Stéphane Laimé

Kent Nagano and the forces of Staatsoper Hamburg launch their new season with a production of Shostakovich's very first opera in which the ears are beguiled but the eyes are not.

The Deutsche Oper's production of Rossini's sparkling occasion piece is big on gags but short on stardust.

The Bayerische Staatsoper's La clemenza di Tito features a bold staging, a talented cast of singer-actors, and a great orchestra. Time, place, and genders are all ambiguous, but none of that gets in the way of the story.