Opera & Ballet

Collected opera and ballet reviews

Iolanthe at Buxton: Westminster’s politicians are taught a lesson

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Buxton International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival [3] – Iolanthe: Soloists of Charles Court Opera, National Festival Orchestra / David Eaton (conductor). Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire, 7.8.2026. (RW)

‘None shall part us from each other’ (Matthew Palmer as Strephon and Llio Evans as Phyllis) © Craig Fuller

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Currentzis, Grigorian and Tetelman overcome Carrizo’s choreographic oddities in Salzburg’s Carmen

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AustriaAustria Salzburg Festival 2026 [1] – Bizet, Carmen: Soloists, Utopia Choir (chorus master: Vitaly Polonsky), Salzburg Bach Choir (chorus master: Michael Schneider), Salzburger Festspiele und Theater Kinderchor (chorus masters: Wolfgang Götz, Regina Sgier), Utopia Orchestra / Teodor Currentzis (conductor). Filmed (directed by Michael Beyer) at the Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, on 8.8.2026 and streamed on STAGE+ on 9.8.2026. (JPr)

Eurudike De Beul (Don José’s Mother), Jonathan Tetelman (Don José) and Kristina Mkhitaryan (Micaëla) © SF/Thomas Aurin

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Hugo Marchand leads a stellar troupe of dancers from Paris Opera Ballet in Los Angeles

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United StatesUnited States ‘BalletNOW, Superstars of Paris’: Dancers of Paris Opera Ballet, Elena Bonnay (piano), Julie Sévilla-Fraysse (cello). Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 1.8.2026. (JRo)

Hugo Marchand in Béjart’s Bolero (not in the current program) © Julien Benhamou

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OHP’s Die Fledermaus: disappointing production, though there is pleasure in the singing

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United KingdomUnited Kingdom Opera Holland Park 2026 – Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus: Soloists, Chorus of Opera Holland Park, City of London Sinfonia / George Jackson (conductor). Opera Holland Park, London, 29.7.2026. (KMcD)

Matthew Siveter (Frank) and Robert Burt (Frosch) © Craig Fuller

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