Das Rheingold is the first opera in Richard Wagner’s tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen or Ring Cycle. It sets in motion the story that plays out across the four operas, and establishes the central theme of power versus love. It sees the dwarf, or Nibelung, Alberich steal the gold that is guarded by the Rhinemaidens and forge it into a ring that makes the bearer all powerful. He is only able to do so, however, by renouncing love, which in the world we see before us no one has...

Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, which is currently enjoying its UK premiere at the Royal Opera House, is one opera where it does not pay to read the synopsis in advance. In most instances, the advantage of having some prior knowledge of what to look out for outweighs the disadvantage of any surprises being spoilt, but that is not the case here. This is because it is an opera in which we are constantly learning new things as the drama unfolds, with some of the revelations being so...

Don Giovanni of 1787 is one of three operas that Mozart wrote with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (the others being Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte). It tells of the eponymous hero, or rather antihero, who effortlessly conquers thousands of women. Although in the process he makes many enemies, the ladies he has cheated have a habit of coming back for more or trying to save him, and in the end he is responsible for his own downfall. When the ghost of the Commendatore...