September 2026

The star-crossed lovers, Roméo and Juliette, are on our front cover this month—Bekhzod Davronov and Nina Minasyan in Polish National Opera’s new production of Gounod’s opera

Inside you’ll find reviews of performances from around the world, of books and CD recordings, along with features including:

A celebration of the South African composer and influential educator Stanley Glasser by Christopher Ballantine

The 150th anniversary of the conductor Bruno Walter’s birth marked by Nigel Simeone in a look at his Covent Garden years

Rupert Christiansen and Henrietta Bredin in praise of the power and impact of the opera chorus

Freddie De Tommaso in conversation with Louise T. Guinther, paying tribute to the great tenors of the past from whom he takes inspiration

The 1966 premiere of Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra at the Metropolitan Opera’s new home in Lincoln Center remembered by Ken Benson

Ellie Neate as our emerging artist coming through the Stage Door as she prepares to sing Lisette on Opera Rara’s new recording of La rondine

Productions reviewed around the world include: Roméo et Juliette in Warsaw, Götterdämmerung in Atlanta, Simon Boccanegra in Amsterdam, David et Jonathas in Chicago, Turandot in Avignon, Elektra in Tokyo, Werther in Mexico City, Orfeo at Glyndebourne, Tancredi in Rome, Bluthochzeit in Frankfurt, I Capuleti e i Montecchi in Buenos Aires, I puritani at Covent Garden, Parsifal in Vienna, Das Rheingold at Grange Park Opera, Der Rosenkavalier in Gdańsk, La Montagne noire in Bordeaux, Ercole amante in Paris, Medea in Epidaurus, Salome in Tel Aviv, Un ballo in maschera in Florence, Vanessa in Spoleto, Il ritorno d’Ulisse at Garsington Opera