Kathleen Ferrier Award Winner Kitty Whately in Leeds

Purists look away. Translating Müller’s poetry from its sublime German to work well in English was always going to be a difficult task, but Spence’s infectious enthusiasm carried it off.

Nina Brazier’s production for Ryedale Festival Opera, on tour at Grimeborn, resoundingly succeeds on all levels, giving us an evening of luxurious beauty, abandoned sensuality and superb characterisation.

Harry Christophers brought his Sixteen to Manchester for a night of deeply romantic choral music at The Bridgewater Hall. Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem was a foreseeable success, but the seldom-heard Vocal Quartets, settings of Sternau, Schiller, Daumer and Goethe, were a delightful addition to the programme.The first set of Brahms quartets, Op.

Au Voces8 Centre, la célèbre soprano entraîne son auditoire dans un voyage de toute beauté, allant de la poésie mystique médiévale aux chants de l’holocauste.

Opha Phelan’s staging presents the action as a grand, Freudian social experiment. It’s a risk – but the production is lifted by outstanding performances from the cast and the Academy of Ancient Music.

Mark-Anthony Turnage's operatic adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg's tale of abuse provides rich entertainment even as it shocks.