Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Prokofiev’s The Gambler combines great singing and acting in a terrific new production in Ostrava

by

Czech RepublicCzech Republic Prokofiev, The Gambler: Soloists, Chorus, Actors and Orchestra of Národni Divadlo Moravskoslezské Opera and Ballet / Filip Urban (conductor). Antonín Dvořák Theatre, Ostrava, 10.6.2026. (GT)

Prokofiev’s The Gambler in Ostrava (front, Alexander Kravets as Alexie)

Read more

Garsington magically conceives of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse as a sequel to its Orfeo

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Garsington Opera 2026 [3] – Monteverdi, Il ritorno d’Ulisse: Soloists, The English Concert / Laurence Cummings (conductor). Garsington Opera at Wormsley, 12.6.2026/ (CR)

Cecelia Hall as Penelope and Ed Lyon as Ulisse in Il ritorno d’Ulisse © Craig Fuller

Read more

Through a glass darkly in Grange Park Opera’s gloomily convincing Don Carlo

by

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Grange Park Opera 2026 [1] – Verdi, Don Carlo: Soloists, Grange Park Chorus, Orchestra of English National Opera / Gianluca Marciano (conductor). Grange Park Opera, West Horsley, 6.6.2026. (CR)

Julian Close (The Grand Inquisitor) and Matthew Rose (Philip II) © Marc Brenner

Read more

Nadja Loschky’s Carmen disappointed in a production saved by the professionalism of the performers

by

GermanyGermany Bizet, Carmen: Soloists, Semperoper Children’s Choir, Saxon State Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Lorenzo Passerini (conductor). Semperoper Dresden, 1.6.2026. (MC)

[l-r] Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Carmen), Lasse Myhr (Alter Ego of Don José), Attilio Glaser (Don José) and Marjukka Tepponen (Micaëla) © Monika Rittershaus

Read more

Cologne concert Götterdämmerung performance brings Ring cycle project to a glorious conclusion

by

GermanyGermany Wagner, Götterdämmerung: Dresden Festival Chorus of the Richard-Wagner-Academy, KlangVerwaltung Chorus, Dresden Festival Orchestra, Concerto Cologne / Kent Nagano (conductor). Philharmonie Cologne, 4.6.2026. (DM-D)

Kent Nagano conducts Götterdämmerung (previously in Dresden) © Oliver Killig

Read more