Described as "the bible of the industry" (The Daily Telegraph), OPERA has been the world’s leading commentator on the lyric stage for nearly 70 years.  Founded in 1950 by the late Lord Harewood, we continue to provide unrivalled coverage of events through a mixture of reviews (live performances, recordings, books, CDs and DVDs), features and analysis, plus listings of all major opera houses and events worldwide.  Our long-standing editors – Harold Rosenthal, Rodney Milnes and, since 2000, John Allison – have ensured continuity and our editorial board is made up of the most distinguished opera critics from Britain’s national newspapers.  Though London-based, we have a network of international correspondents, covering performances from every corner of the globe.

Latest Issue

June 2020

Few productions sum up isolation quite like that featured on this month’s cover, Christoph Waltz’s staging of Fidelio at the Theater an der Wien. Though it fell victim to Covid-19 closures, it was broadcast on Austrian television, from where our Viennese correspondent Gerhard Persché reviewed it.

Our coverage of the devastating impact of the coronavirus on the operatic world continues in an interview with Michael Chance of the Grange Festival and with Opera Europa’s Nicholas Payne writing about his organization’s response.

Also included in this month’s features:

—A profile of Welsh National Opera’s music director, Tomáš Hanus
—Marking the 50th anniversary of E.M. Forster’s death, we look at his operatic connections
—Inspired by what should have been his month’s new production at La Scala of Giordano’s Fedora, we examine the fashion for Russian subjects in Italian opera in the early 20th century
—Plans for a musical celebrating Pavarotti

Our ‘For the record’ guest this month is Jamie Barton, and our ‘Disc of the month’ is the recording of Detlev Glanert’s new opera Oceane on Oehms Classics.