Music, Opera

Minimalist composer Philip Glass’s magical reimagining of Jean Cocteau’s 1946 La Belle et la Bête combines the classic black and white film with live performance in a Šsophisticated work that is at once a touching fairy tale and a meditation on creativity. Removing the film’s original dialogue track and score by Georges…

Seductress, victim, manipulator: Lulu lives off men as both tortured and torturer, purveyor of ecstasy and angel of death. Caught up in greedy games and seedy schemes, and surrounded by lovers driven to despair, Lulu makes an inexorable rise to the highest levels of power, money and fame. But her descent is just as swift.

• Directed by: Mark Forkgen
• Written by: Marc Blitzstein

Mark Forkgen conducts an English adaptation by Marc Blitzstein of Kurt Weill's opera, which gives a satirical view of capitalism in pre-war London. Directed by Ellie Nixon.

• Directed by: David Manifold
• Written by: Gilbert

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera about the Mugatroyd family's curse and its consequences. Stage direction by Simon Moss and musical director David Manifold.

The Culross Festival has been bringing top UK and Scottish acts to the picturesque setting of Culross for over 20 years. The open-air lawn of Abbey House and the presence of catering facilities lend themselves to a late summer picnic, and previous festivals have included Eddi Reader, Ruby Turner and Capercaillie.

Christian Carsten directs a production, featuring performers from Nationale Reisopera, of Puccini's tragic tale of two Parisian lovers living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Bringing world-class arts to the capital since 1947, the EIF sets the standard for classical concerts, opera, dance and theatre, with performers drawn from around the world. Among this year's many highlights, curated on a theme of art and technology, are Scottish Ballet's Dance Odysseys, Beethoven's Fidelio rocketed into…

• Directed by: Christopher Monks
• Written by: George Frideric Handel

The group performs a comic take on a tale of two lovers, set to Baroque music by Handel and others and featuring music from Xerxes, Giulio Cesare, Rindaldo and Orlando. Directed by Emma Rivlin. Sung in English.

Vincenzo Bellini: I Capuleti ed i Montecchi - opera in 2 acts Bellini's sixth opera was written for La Fenice in Venice in 1830, immediately before La sonnambula. It was not based directly on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet but on its Italian precursors. A distinctive coloration is provided by the older tradition of…

• Written by: Domenico Cimarosa

A performance of Benjamin Britten's first opera, about the founding of America by a motley band of pioneers, and Domenico Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage, a tale of class rivalries, marriageable sisters and a pompous English Count.

Highlights include: Georges Bizet: Les Toréadors from Carmen Giuseppe Verdi: Ehi! paggio! from Falstaff Giuseppe Verdi: Ella giammai m'amò from Don Carlos Richard Wagner: O du, mein holder Abendstern (Song to the evening star) from Tannhäuser, Act 3 Interval The acclaimed and award-winning operatic…

Giuseppe Verdi: Alzira - opera in 2 acts (concert performance in Italian with English surtitles) Interval continued Verdi's rarely heard eighth opera was his first for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, in 1845. Cammarano, the resident poet, based his libretto on a play by Voltaire subtitled Les Américains, set…

• Written by: Verdi

Verdi's passionate opera in four acts about the doomed love affair between Ethiopian slave girl Aida and Egyptian hero Radames featuring the Chisinau National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Martin Handley conducts Puccini's classic East meets West tragedy about a young geisha girl and her American lover. Directed by Jacopo Spirei. Sung in Italian.

A performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's tale of love and bumbling bureaucrats.

Desire, obsession and doomed love: Oper Frankfurt’s striking double bill brings together two one-act operas separated by more than 200 years of musical history, yet united in their searing explorations of human relationships. Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is a poignant masterpiece of early English opera that features some of…

Paul Drayton and Keith Sparrow's opera based on the folk tale. With soprano Lucy Eaton as Morveren the Mermaid and fisherman Mathew Trewhella played by tenor Ranald McCusker.

The largest arts festival in the world and the greatest show on earth. Every year thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages all over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and…

Verdi’s classic love story of war, jealousy and revenge.

The romantic opera is staged traditionally, directed by Ellen Kent and starring international soloists with the full Moldovan National Opera and Moldovan National Philharmonic.

Ellen Kent brings Verdi's magnificent opera to life with the help of a range of acclaimed international soloists.

• Directed by: Edward Gardner (cond)
• Written by: Andrew Shore

Britten's classic opera.

• Directed by: Oleg Caetani (cond)

Giacomo Puccini's powerful opera returns in a first revival of director Jonathan Miller's lovingly intimate staging. Trivia fans may note the 2009 opening night made broadcasting history when Sky Arts simultaneously screened live both the onstage action and the backstage excitement. Atmospherically updated to 1930s Paris…

• Directed by: Phelim McDermott (dir)
• Written by: Philip Glass

Gareth Jones conducts Philip Glass' take on final months of Walt Disney's life, including mythical imaginings of Abraham Lincoln and Andy Warhol. Baritone Christopher Purves plays Walt Disney, with soprano Janis Kelly as his nurse. Directed by Phelim McDermott.