Claus Guth’s staging of Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa was one of the first artistic casualties of COVID-19. It was set to appear at the Royal Opera House in March 2020, but it never did so because the pandemic led to the venue’s closure. It finally premiered in September 2021, and proved to be well worth the wait. If anything, this first revival of the production, by Oliver Platt, is even more accomplished than the initial outing, thanks to the strength of both...

Lohengrin, which premiered in 1850 in Weimar, is the sixth of Richard Wagner’s thirteen operas, and the third he wrote (after Der fliegende Holländer and Tannhäuser) that is still regularly performed today. It stands very much at a crossroads in that it harks back to classical opera in some respects, but in others looks forward to the composer’s later music dramas by including leitmotifs and being essentially through-composed (although some distinct...

Based on Prosper Mérimée’s eponymous novella, Georges Bizet’s Carmen of 1875 is the story of the ultimate temptress. A gypsy and cigarette factory worker in Seville, Carmen has the power to entice any man she chooses. Once, however, they are besotted with her she quickly moves on, leaving them heart broken and unable to accept what has happened. In the opera Don José, an army corporal, has almost everything he could ever desire. He has decided to marry...