Replacing an afflicted Irina Lungu - who in turn had replaced, at longer notice, Diana Damrau - German soprano Mandy Fredrich stepped off a plane at 4.45pm, we were told - see her whizz through ...

5.0 out of 5.0 starsAfter a glorious opening night at Glyndebourne, it’s a pleasure to be back at the Royal Opera House for the stunning visual and musical feast that is the all-star 6th revival of ...

The 1860s French setting mixes panache and musical charm as Faust sells his soul to Méphistophélès and seduces Marguerite Gounod’s Faust is one of those operas – readers may wish to nominate their own ...

Whether viewed as a metaphor or a very real entity, the devil has held a morbid fascination for mankind, probably for as long as there has been thought. The impulse to evil in the world and in ...

First seen in 2004, McVicar’s staging still has all the illicit sheen and lure of Marguerite’s jewels. In an era of austerity (even at the Royal Opera) this kind of old-school, expensive theatricality ...

David McVicar's production of Gounod's Faust is 21 years old but even without the stellar cast it has often attracted in the past, it still has the power to thrill an audience. The story of Faust ...