Sophia Lambton

Tightly-buttoned Bach met a bombastic Shostakovich in this demonstration of four radically different works that came across as either under- or expressly overstated.

Accentuating agony across three erasa?? worth of works, Paavo Järvi conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra unsettlingly in both good and bad ways.

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted an evening of music where emotion overrode pristine beauty.

Evolving artists with differing amounts of stage experience formed a variably green, prepared and overworked ensemble in this summer showcase of the Royal Opera's young roster singers.

*****#JakubHrusa builds a wondrous labyrinth of melodies with @bambergsymphony and @JoshuaBellMusic in the original #BohemianRhapsody @BBCProms

A slick delivery of operatic satires by students of the Royal College of Music challenges contemporary, outmoded conceptions about 'amateur' vs. 'professional'.

In a minimalist setting, Benjamin Britten's 20th-century reflections on Herman Melville's novel are deftly captured musically and visually.

Stupendous singing from a group of students battled old professionals who didn't dare reward risks.

Juan Diego Flórez gave an orchestral recital which failed to display his superlative assets.

If there are golden voices, the instrument of Elina Garanca isn't among them. Dusky like a claret, the mezzo-soprano's pervasive, pure timbre emerges with the strength of a tree bark; equally, the luscious lilt of gently pouring molten bronze.

This evening of contrasting sentimental works was far too fiery to resound with echoes of the (Russian) soul.

A quarter of a century after its premiere, the long-running production is still worth a shot.

The Royal Opera's new production sidelines the opera in favour of meaningless chaos.

The spectacle is a hunger-inducing delight for the eyes.

Barrie Kosky's unmusical revival loses more steam on its second outing.

Antonio Pappano's conducting of the work evoked gloom but didn't approach closely enough the more sinister subject of death.

Under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the evening exuded Romantic electricity - of a calibre not always the most musical or Berliozian.

Sir Simon Rattle enslaved the LSO under Ravel's near-supernatural spell; solo singers strived to follow him along the trail.

In the space of just a brief recital, Joyce DiDonato brings World History to Covent Garden (and makes some).

Magical realism is supplanted by kitchen sink comedy-drama in this adaptation of Neil Gaiman's 2002 hit novel of the same name.