Germany Wagner, Das Rheingold: Soloists, Gürzenich-Orchestra / Marc Albrecht (conductor). Cologne Opera, 6.11.2025. (DM-D)
Children are the focus of an intriguing Das Rheingold in Cologne
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
The incandescent music of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard at LA Opera
United States Sarah Kirkland Snider, Hildegard: Soloists, Members of the Orchestra of LA Opera / Gabriel Crouch (conductor). The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills, 6.11.2025. (JRo)
Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé are delightful in Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée ‘for 2025’
United Kingdom Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée: Dancers of The Royal Ballet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Jonathan Lo (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Ross MacGibbon) from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 5.11.2025. (JPr)
With laughter, song and dance, Anton Du Beke at the Musicals is a show you wish would never end
United Kingdom Anton Du Beke at the Musicals: Anton Du Beke, Lance Ellington (singer), Lucy Nolan and Lowri Beth Evans (singer/dancers), dancers and musicians. Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, 3.11.2025. (JPr)
Vienna’s darkly dramatic Pelléas et Mélisande is sung exceptionally by Villazón, Lindsey and Keenlyside
Austria Debussy, Pelléas et Mélisande: Soloists, Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Alain Altinoglu (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Ella Gallieni) from Vienna State Opera, 2.11.2025. (JPr)
Metamorphosis as method: from a Vivaldi pasticcio to a drag revue
Austria Salzburg Festival 2025 [9] – Vivaldi/ Ovid, Hotel Metamorphosis: Soloists, Il Canto di Orfeo chorus, Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco / Gianluca Capuano (conductor). Recorded live (directed by Tiziano Mancini) at the Haus für Mozart, Salzburg, June 2025 and viewed on arte.tv.
United States Various, Orgy & Bess: Deep Throats and High Notes: Soloists, Band, Heartbeat Opera. Judson Memorial Church, New York, 31.10.2025. (ES-S)
Annilese Miskimmon’s superbly executed Dead Man Walking for English National Opera
United Kingdom Jake Heggie, Dead Man Walking: Soloists, Finchley Children’s Music Group, Chorus and Orchestra of the English National Opera / Kerem Hasan (conductor), London Coliseum, 1.11.2025. (AK)
An outstanding account of Handel’s Deidamia at Wexford
Ireland Wexford Festival Opera 2025 [3] – Handel, Deidamia: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Wexford Festival Opera / George Petrou (conductor). O’Reilly Theatre, Wexford, 26.10.2925. (RB)
