Performer: Valentina Peleggi

Heard side by side, these two Stabat Maters, neither of which is a typical example of its kind, make for an evening of striking contrasts under conductor Valentina Peleggi. 

Garsington Opera's new production of Rossini's comic masterpiece is a bawdy hoot, but humour aside it features an ensemble who provide first-class bel canto singing.

Bieito’s Carmen is now a mainstay of ENO's repertoire, but with an excellent central cast led by Sean Panikkar and Justina Gringytė, the production feels entirely fresh. 

Director Purni Morell sandpapers every trace of spikiness from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, leaving the production a victim of its own good intentions. 

We meet the artistic director of the Paris Mozart Orchestra, founder of an international competition for female conductors to take place at the Paris Philharmonie in March 2020