David Karlin

Alban Berg's opera Wozzeck starts bleak and gets bleaker. Telling the tragic story of a soldier who eventually kills his partner and himself, it's a cry against the horrors of the human condition. Carrie Cracknell's production for English National Opera is magnificent, and the singers and orchestra under Edward Gardner exceptional.

This revival of David McVicar's 2003 setting of Die Zauberflöte was familiar in many ways, but flooded with singing talent and with a Mozart specialist conducting. It was also a fitting tribute to conductor Sir Colin Davis, who sadly died this weekend.

“Fly, my thoughts, on gilded wings; fly to rest on hills and mounts.” Va, pensiero, the Act 3 chorus of the Hebrew slaves, catapulted Giuseppe Verdi to lasting fame. It remains one of the biggest moments in any opera, and the Royal Opera Chorus performed it superbly last night. If you can afford the expensive tickets that are all that's left, go for it.

For an opera school production, it's a good idea to choose a classic: something that will focus the audience on the quality of the singers and orchestra rather than on innovation in the piece or programming.  Eugene Onegin is a wonderful opera, and this performance didn't disappoint.

More than anything, I left Covent Garden struck by Puccini's score: I don't know of an opera that matches Tosca for being easy to get to grips with while also having great detail and sophistication.  It may be a very familiar opera, but this is one case in which familiarity certainly does not breed contempt.

The London Symphony Orchestra were joined by Kristjan Järvi and the Theodosii Spassov Trio for this concert, entitled "Balkan Fever", mixing folk-and gypsy-inspired music both for orchestra alone and orchestra with the Trio. Tons of energy ensured a fevered atmosphere, though not necessarily a Balkan one.

Most probably, what you think of The Minotaur will depend on what you demand from an opera. This is a quality production, with many of its elements of the highest class. But I can't recommend it to a mainstream opera-goer, who I believe is likely to demand a level of melody and variety of mood that is absent from Birtwistle's writing.

Controversial director Calixto Bieito's production of Carmen strips the story down to its bare essentials, with plenty of raw emotional power. If only ENO's musical performance had been up to the standard of the production. If it improves, this will make for a sensational night's opera.

Donizetti's sparkling comedy L'Elisir d'Amore has never really fallen out of favour since its 1832 première, and this revival of Laurent Pelly's 2007 production from the Royal Opera is especially entertaining. It's not an opera for lovers of the cutting edge of drama, but for frothy romantic comedy this is hard to beat.

The Guildhall School have decided to extract maximum value from their current production by staging not one opera but three, with different casts and even different orchestral musicians. For added interest, they have chosen three short works that were highly successful in their day but have faded from the current repertoire.