Performer: Valentina Naforniţă

For the 84th edition of its summer festival, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino presents its first ever production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.

Sven-Eric Bechtolf's staging holds a balance between philosophy and humour, but Adam Fischer's vivacious conducting is the real star of the evening.

Contrasting sensations at the Liceu, where the audience punished a production of La bohème with boos and gave rapturous applause to a cast that performed at half throttle.