Guardian Music — Royal Opera House, LondonMarco Arturo Marelli's 2002 production of La Sonnambula, now on its first revival, irritated many when it was new – and time, I suspect, hasn't particularly improved it. The work itself is tricky. Bellini's tale of a girl w... more info

Guardian Music — Despite the best efforts of a great dame, Opera North's Queen of Spades fails to lift offHeralded as one of the most ambitious productions in the company's history, Opera North's The Queen of Spades opened last Thursday in a season full of high-stake... more info

Guardian Music — High fives: M&S's button boots, The Bangles and Leon. Low blows: trilbies, lounge wear and smoky eyesGoing upSaturday morning cinema trips How else are we going to find time to see all this autumn's must-see movies? Anyway, farmers' markets are so 20... more info

Guardian Music — Opera is as vital today as it was in 16th-century Florence. We chart the rise and reinvention of the genre over four centuries16th-century 0riginsThough various ways of bringing music and drama together had been explored over centuries – such as li... more info

Guardian Music — Queen Elizabeth Hall, LondonThis was not a programme designed to leave any doubts about Marc-André Hamelin's mastery of the piano, so it was probably unintentional that its high point should have been the least obviously taxing piece of all. But his... more info

Guardian Music — (Virgin Classics)The American mezzo Joyce DiDonato is exceptional in many ways, not least in managing to produce a popular yet independent-minded recital disc with a point beyond self-publicity. Diva, Divo combines "trouser" roles with "skirt" arias ... more info

Guardian Music — The star Australian soprano, who died last week, was remarkably down to earth for a woman of such stellar talentWhen Joan Sutherland sang, she whirled through the upper atmosphere, like a trapeze artist dancing on a tightrope made of nothing but her ... more info

Guardian Music — Tributes paid to Australian soprano, known in her heyday as 'la stupenda', whose career spanned four decadesJoan Sutherland, the opera star known in her heyday as 'la stupenda', and Maria Callas's successor as the most celebrated soprano in the world... more info

Guardian Music — Hungarian bass best known for Duke BluebeardThe Hungarian bass László Polgár, notable for his outstanding interpretation of the saturnine antihero in Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle, has died unexpectedly at the age of 63. From the time of... more info