Claudia Pritchard

A new production of Bizet's opera pits an independent woman against an oppressive regime

Very welcome return of a stylish, Sixties-set production of Puccini's most theatrical opera features oustanding performances all round

A matchless production of Puccini's most dramatic opera has dynamic soprano Angel Blue in the title role

One wife has a sneaky cigarette, the other a lover, in an all-Italian double bill about marriage

Best Concerts and Opera in October

An Italian tale of love and betrayal unfolds in a busy village, in Mascagni's searing opera, staged by a unique company

Revival of a layered production of Beethoven's only opera, in which inaction is as visible as action itself

Superb singing lifts a somewhat elaborate new production of Benjamin Britten's chilling ghost story

Carols and seasonal favourites, Handel's Messiah and operas to raise the spirits add up to a bumper package this year

A poet fails in love over and over again in Offenbach's opera, in a new production by Damiano Michieletto