Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Well-chosen cast, but it is difficult to connect with Opera North’s Flying Dutchman ‘reinterpretation’

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Opera North 2025 – Wagner, The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer): Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North / Garry Walker (conductor). Lyric Theatre, The Lowry, The Quays, Salford, 15.3.2025. (MC)

Layla Claire (Senta) with the ladies of the Chorus of Opera North © James Glossop

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LA Opera’s Così fan tutte: a romp at a lavish American country club

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United StatesUnited States Mozart, Così fan tutte: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of LA Opera / James Conlon (conductor). Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 16.3.2025. (JRo)

[l-r] Anthony León (Ferrando), Rod Gilfry (Don Alfonso), Ana María Martínez (Despina), and Justin Austin (Guglielmo) © Cory Weaver

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Seven stars align for an engrossing Metropolitan Opera Fidelio revival

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United StatesUnited States The Met: Live in HD – Beethoven, Fidelio: Soloists, Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra / Susanna Mälkki (conductor). Broadcast live (directed by Gary Halvorson) from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, to Cineworld Basildon, Essex, 15.3.2025. (JPr)

The Prisoners’ Chorus from Fidelio Act I © Karen Almond/Met Opera

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New chamber opera brings warmth and insight to hot-button social issues in the San Francisco world premiere

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United StatesUnited States Hanlon, The Pigeon Keeper: Soloists and Orchestra of Opera Parallèle / Nicole Paiement (conductor). Cowell Theatre, San Francisco, 9.3.2025. (HS)

Angela Yam (Orsia), Craig Irvin (Thalasso), and Shayla Sauvie (Kosmo) in a fishng boat © Stefan Cohen

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