Beat Furrer’s new opera is impressively staged and performed, but it’s hard going

The Albanian soprano shines in Richard Eyre’s revived London staging of Verdi’s opera

A starry concert at London’s Barbican marked the orchestra’s 20th anniversary

A well performed but problematic production of Tchaikovsky’s finest opera

The London-born R&B singer has proved herself highly adept in this US-dominated genre

Venus Unwrapped, a year-long festival of music by women, begins with the finest female composer of the 17th century

The artist’s contemplative vocals are lifted by solid computerised beats and chunky synth riffs

The female sextet’s mini-album is a riposte of sorts to notions of showbiz control

Studded with superior guest appearances, the Malian band’s fifth album thrills as much as their first

Neither gratingly modernist, nor fustily old hat, this new collection shows that symphonies and concertos have life in them yet

An album of modern jazz legend gets a new lease of life on first-time vinyl and re-issued CD

Sarah Hayes and Peter Brewis combine intricate rhythms with busy melodies in the spirit of Kate Bush

Talk of ‘end times’ from a US critic prompts Richard Fairman to consider the health of this once-great art form

The music industry is neglecting the very stars it should be nurturing to keep afloat

The singer and songwriter’s latest album is a shift from pop to the kind of experimentalism that has seen her labelled as a musical boffin

The band captured the genre-bending energy of the 1960s and 70s

Musical theatre works performed over the opening weekend varied in quality but all evinced a sterling professionalism

This London mega concert featured 164 musicians

The Anglo-Irish folk band has a way with a swooping melody

This collection of issue-related compositions might sound worthy, but strong standalone compositions and tight interplay deliver the ‘uplift’ of the title

A selection of violin music by black composers aims to start redressing the balance

These handsomely lit country-soul ballads are populated with distinctively American characters — blue-collar losers, dreamers, gamblers and drinkers

The French trio combine guitar distortion and crashing drums with sludgy riffs and head-nodding basslines