A deeply human Messiah comes to Spoleto Festival USA

Imagine waiting for a long time. You can’t see anything, so you can’t entirely trust your unfamiliar surroundings. Imagine heightened senses: sounds with sharper edges, drafts of air crawling across goosebumped skin, scents stretching out to you in the darkness. Imagine an opera in which the performers can watch the audience rather than the other way around.

Netia Jones’ modern reimagining intrigues more than it convinces, but still makes a strong case for Dvořák’s dark fairy tale. 

A new production of Les Enfants terribles at the Opéra de Lille drags the audience into a terribly marvelous labyrinth, courtesy of conductor Virginie Déjos and directors Matthias Piro and Lisa Moro.

Eugene Onegin returns to the Sydney Opera house in Kasper Holten’s slightly awkward production but the singing and orchestral playing are exemplary. 

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

Mozart's teenage comedy is more complicated then Figaro but is easy on the ear, with many opportunities for a young cast to shine.