United Kingdom Puccini, Tosca: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera / Gergely Madaras (conductor), Wales Millenium Centre, Cardiff, 14.9.2025. (LJ)
Natalya Romaniw shows us why she is the Tosca of the moment at WNO
Opera & Ballet
Collected opera and ballet reviews
Saffron Opera Group redeem themselves with a compelling end to Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer
United Kingdom Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer: Soloists, Saffron Opera Group Chorus (inc. Saffron Walden Choral Society, chorus masters: James Davey and Quintin Beer), Saffron Opera Group Orchestra / Michael Thorne (conductor). Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden, 14.9.2025. (JPr)
Muntagirov and Kaneko’s Apollo is the jewel in the crown of Ballet Nights: Bound in Motion
United Kingdom Ballet Nights – Bound in Motion: Jamiel Devernay-Laurence (compère). Cadogan Hall, London, 11.9.2025. (JO’D)
Tarmo Peltokoski’s Die Zauberflöte casts its spell in Bucharest
Romania George Enescu International Festival 2025 [1] – Mozart, Die Zauberflöte: Soloists, Chorwerk Ruhr, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen / Tarmo Peltokoski (conductor). Romanian Radio Hall, Bucharest, 7.9.2025. (ES-S)
Musical values carry Rigoletto to the heights at the San Francisco Opera
United States Verdi, Rigoletto: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera / Eun Sun Kim (conductor). War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, 5.9.2025. (HS)
Intense, unnerving, and compelling: Shostakovich celebrated at the Proms with a stellar Lady Macbeth of Mtensk
United Kingdom BBC Proms 2025 [26] – Shostakovich, The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District: Soloists, BBC Singers, Chorus of English National Opera (chorus master: Matthew Quinn), Brass Section of the Orchestra of English National Opera, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra /John Storgårds (conductor), Ruth Knight (stage director). Royal Albert Hall, London. 1.9.2025. (CSa)
An unforgettable The Turn of the Screw closes the Cumbria Opera Festival
United Kingdom Britten, The Turn of the Screw: Soloists, Jessica Meakin, Julian Cann (violins), Kim Becker (viola), Daniel Crompton (cello), Richard English (double bass), Richard Allen (harp), Hannah Gillingham (flute/alto flute/piccolo), Mana Shibata (oboe/cor anglais), William Hammond (clarinet/bass clarinet), Ursula Leveaux (bassoon), Chris Howlings (French horn), Alex Norton (piano/celesta), Stephen Burke (percussion) / Joe Davies (conductor). Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands, 30.8.2025. (CK)
A sublime Gothenburg revival of Rossini’s La Cenerentola
Sweden Rossini, La Cenerentola: Gothenburg Opera Soloists, Male chorus and Orchestra / Giancarlo Andretta (conductor). Gothenburg Opera main stage, 28.8.2025. (NS)
