MYSTERIOUS: Donizetti - What They Never Told You

Rolando Villazón directs opera at the world's top houses while still singing

Tenor Rolando Villazón has made his Metropolitan Opera directing debut with Bellini's “La Sonnambula.”

The Independent UK · Oct 7, 2025

The Elixir of Love review – an intoxicating brush with a snake oil salesman

English Touring Opera’s witty production sets this Donizetti comedy at the seaside, complete with donkey rides, fish and chips and a persuasive conman

The Guardian - UK · Sep 29, 2025

Lucia di Lammermoor review – Jennifer France is a delight in touching and convincing Donizetti staging

The unforced warmth of France’s heroine wins the audience’s sympathy from the outset in Cecilia Stinton’s thoughtful new staging of the bel canto bloodbath

The Guardian - UK · Jul 23, 2025

Lucia di Lammermoor review – a vocally breathtaking, disturbing to witness descent into madness

Nadine Sierra is sensationally good as Lucia in this revival of Katie Mitchell’s production of Donizetti’s romantic tragedy – a dark, thoughtful and sometimes shocking interpretation for the post-#MeToo era

The Guardian - UK · Apr 21, 2024

L’Elisir d’Amore review – Glyndebourne takes Donizetti into the 1950s with wit and charm

A strong cast and gleeful chorus enliven this revival of Annabel Arden’s insightful production, which plays up the opera’s irony

The Guardian - UK · Nov 12, 2023

Lucrezia Borgia review – dark and atmospheric Donizetti from English Touring Opera

Eloise Lally straightforwardly tells this convoluted story of concealed identity ending in a mass poisoning

The Guardian - UK · Mar 5, 2023

Don Pasquale review – stunning take on Donizetti with a Dangerous Liaisons-style twist

Sensational performances help Mariame Clément’s interpretation achieve great emotional depth and subtlety

The Guardian - UK · Jul 25, 2022

Buxton festival review – cowboys, canines and note-perfect farce

Antony and Cleopatra conspired in a budget hotel and Donizetti’s slapstick triumphed in a glorious return of the opera pageant

The Guardian - UK · Jul 15, 2022

The week in classical: Don Pasquale; Holst’s Sāvitri

The charms of Donizetti’s comic opera continue to elude, while a Holst rarity shines in an elegant fusion of music and movement

The Guardian - UK · May 7, 2022