A gloomy production of a glittering opera

The elegant narrative solution of suicide has had no greater cheerleader than opera

Opera directors are utilising programme books to purvey their moral and ethical wisdom

A new performance of a Janacek opera takes one to the moon and back

Dame Ethel Smyth’s opera dated quickly, but it hardly hurts to have another look at it

John Blow, Venus and Adonis; Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas (HGO)

Spare us the social justice preaching

Ignoring Russian opera — and, in particular, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov — is a mistake

Carmen still shocks and seduces

With productions this bad, it is no surprise that nobody cares about opera