Having caught up with Katie Mitchell’s Aix production, Pelléas will never quite be the same again

FranceFrance Festival d’Aix-en-Provence [2] – Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande: Soloists, Chorus (chorus master: Benedict Kearns) and Orchestra of the Lyon Opera / Susanna Mälkki (conductor). Grand Théâtre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 9.7.2024. (MB)

Pelléas et Mélisande at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024 © Jean-Louis Fernandez

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This Aix-en-Provence production quietly, powerfully rethought and reimagined Madama Butterfly

FranceFrance Festival d’Aix-en-Provence [1] – Puccini, Madama Butterfly: Soloists, Lyon Opera Chorus (chorus master: Benedict Kearns), Lyon Opera Orchestra / Daniele Rustoni (conductor). Théâtre de l’Archeveché, Aix-en-Provence, 8.7.2024. (MB)

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2024: Madama Butterfly © Ruth Walz

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Visually demanding and musically convincing Die Walküre in Saarbrücken

GermanyGermany Wagner, Die Walküre: Soloists, Chorus of Saarländisches Staatstheater. Saarländisches Staatsorchester / Stefan Neubert (conductor). Saarländisches Staatstheater, Saarbrücken, 29.6.2024. (DMD)

Aile Asszonyi (centre front, Brünnhilde) and Thomas Johannes Mayer (right, Wotan) © Martin Kaufhold

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Livermore’s new Turandot is in an opium haze at Milan’s La Scala as Netrebko and Eyvazov are victorious

ItalyItaly Puccini, Turandot: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Michele Gamba (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Anna Gettel) from La Scala, Milan, 4.7.2024. (JPr)

Davide Livermore’s production of Turandot Act I © Teatro alla Scala / Brescia e Amisano

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Garsington Opera’s impressively alert Un giorno di regno should keep you amused and absorbed

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Garsington Opera 2024 [4] – Verdi, Un giorno di regno: Soloists, Garsington Opera Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Chris Hopkins (conductor). Garsington Opera at Wormsley, 1.7.2024. (CR)

Christine Rice as La Marchesa del Poggio © Julian Guidera

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