Venue: Arena Sferisterio, Macerata

In a reduced concert performance of Il trovatore the drama unfolds with the force of music alone.

Livermore's staging implies two different storylines – do we only see the result of Don Giovanni's hallucinations?

Svoboda’s mirrors continue to provoke interesting considerations. Titled above the stage, they project a birds-eye-view of the action to the audience, making voyeurs of us all.

With unbridled imagination, Michieletto fills this usually-problematic space with a wealth of racy detail.

The Magic Flute's roots in popular theatre come through most strongly throughout Vick's production, which sparkles with a wealth of witty detail. But treatment of the work's socio-political undercurrents doesn't work nearly as well.

For such a young conductor of unassuming stature, Gamba exudes surprising authority, bringing off players with a swipe and reaching out far from the pit to coordinate distant chorus members.

Roberto Frontali is a stern, chillingly immobile Iago, armed with a brassy voice and a cleanness of diction that sees him carve Boito's text with surgical precision.