Music, Opera

• Written by: Donizetti

Donizetti's story of the Burghers of Calais including poignant scenes between the young couple at the heart of the drama and the leader of the city and his anguished followers. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

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…

• Directed by: John Fulljames
• Written by: Andrea Leone Tottola

John Fulljames directs Rossini's story of King James's love for the maiden Elena, the daughter of his enemy Douglas and the girl's own passion for a hunter called Malcolm. Conducted by Michele Mariotti and starring Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Florez. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

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…

• Written by: Verdi

Verdi's tragic drama about a scandalous love affair.

• Written by: Rossini

This English translation of Gioachino Rossini's comic, two-act opera in which Count Almaviva enlists the help of local fixer Figaro to gain access to his beloved Rosina, who is guarded by the over-protective Dr. Bartolo.

• Written by: Gilbert And Sullivan

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

Britain's best-selling classical crossover artist.

A live performance starring Elna Garana and Roberto Alagna.

• Directed by: Giles Havergal
• Written by: Benjamin Britten

Giles Havergal directs Britten's comic opera set in early 20th-century Suffolk during May Day celebrations. Starring Josephine Barstow as Lady Billows. Sung in English.

A free, hour-long peek backstage at the inner workings, characters, scenes and high points of The Pirates of Penzance.

• Directed by: Antony McDonald (dir)
• Written by: Wagner

Lothar Koenigs conducts Wagner's opera of love and redemption. Starring Peter Wedd in the title role and Emma Bell as Elsa. Directed by Antony McDonald. Sung in German with surtitles in English (and Welsh in Cardiff).

• 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…