Unhappy ever after: Gluck's Armide returns to Paris at the Opéra Comique

Tight orchestral playing, minimalist stage design: the conductor and director are perfectly in tune with each other, transforming Massenet's work into an intimate and timeless drama.

Andreas Homoki's meta-staging in Paris' Opéra-Comique cannot detract from strong musical performances at the Edinburgh Festival, led by Gaëlle Arquez as a near-perfect Carmen.  

Grétry's mash-up of Beauty and the Beast and The Arabian Nights provides an evening of proper enchantment in Paris.

In Basil Twist's staging of Titon et l'Aurore, William Christie shows the breadth of his talent in 18th century French repertoire, conducting an cast which excels in both main and supporting roles.

Voices, orchestra staging: everything in this Ercole Amante is light and magic, to the great delight of the Salle Favart audience.

Hamlet lives! Ambroise Thomas' operatic take on The Bard has a particularly French ending but that doesn't spoil this terrific revival in Paris.