1 LA TRAVIATA
The fiery Puerto Rican soprano Ana Maria Martinez should put some sparks into Richard Eyre’s unobtrusive production of Verdi’s classic weepie.
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, WC2 (www.royaloperahouse.org 020-7304 4000), Sat, Tues & Fri
2 ESSENTIAL SCOTTISH OPERA
For “essential”, read “the remnants of”, but the young cast involved in these semi-staged concerts of opera excerpts by the cash-strapped company should be worth hearing. Edel Shannon (soprano), Julia Riley (mezzo- soprano), Alexander Grove (tenor) and Paul Carey Jones (baritone) are the soloists.
Corn Exchange, Market Square, Melrose (01896 822196), Sat; Ballachulish Village Hall, Loan Fern, Ballachulish (01855 811866), Tues; Aros Centre, Viewfield Road, Portree (www.scottishopera.org.uk 01478 613750), Thur
3 HANSEL AND GRETEL
John Fulljames’s semi-staged production for Opera North does the impossible: it gives a charming and suitably menacing framework for Humperdinck’s fairytale opera.
Town Hall, The Headrow, Leeds (www.operanorth.co.uk 0113-247 8336), Sun
4 SALOME
Susan Bullock has become a sought-after soprano for the most dramatic roles in opera: now she takes on Strauss’s sadistic nymphette in a concert performance by Opera North.
The Sage, St Mary’s Square, Gateshead (www.operanorth.co.uk 0191-443 4661), Feb 10
5 THE IMPRESARIO/THE MEDIUM
Mozart’s rarely heard The Impresario is given in a new English translation by Michael Flexer alongside Gian Carlo Menotti’s tawdry but effective melodrama.
Covent Garden Film Studios, Covent Garden, WC2 (www.secondmovement.org 020-7795 0556), Tues-Fri