The secret to a great opera? Just add poison
A flurry of performances this year reminds us why the art form is an enduring influence on crime writers
A flurry of performances this year reminds us why the art form is an enduring influence on crime writers

From Chagall at the Met to Kentridge at Glyndebourne, painters, sculptors and animators have been thrilled by the total art form

Enticing first-timers has become a tricky business, say heads of the Met and Royal Opera House

In the English-speaking world the art form is in a perennial battle for hearts and minds. Two contrasting books from either side…

Punchy playing and fine singing do Britten’s fail-safe narrative justice at the Linbury Theatre

Calixto Bieito’s sadistic staging at the Opéra Bastille is rescued by a dream-team cast and conductor Pablo Heras-Casado

Beethoven through new eyes, a jazz saxophonist with a rock bent, restless Rosalía and more