Sergei Babayan returned to the Bach Festival of Montreal with an unlikely programme - his irresistible voyage into the history of song and the singing piano, introduced and concluded by one of the greatest melodies ever composed by man, the Aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Christophe Huss, legendary critic and author of Quebec’s Le Dévoir, wrote a detailed review, which we present in translated excerpts.

French tenor Benjamin Bernheim and soprano Sandra Hamaoui joined forces with the Prague Philharmonia conducted by Nicolas André for a programme of French arias and duets. The audience and critics responded ecstatically to the beautiful voices and the uniquely French esprit of the night at Prague’s Smetana Hall.

Débora Waldman conducted a new production of Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci at her Opéra de Dijon, and the critics jubilated: The Silvia Paoli production, which had previously been shown in Montpellier and Toulon, earned rave reviews under Ms Waldman’s musical direction.