Tamerlano review – Trump, Freud and a Bridgerton escapee struggle to get a handle on Handel

Orpha Phelan’s fun but confusing staging for the London Handel festival aligns the opera’s characters with recognisable famous figures. Fine singers and players led by Laurence Cummings ensure consistent musical excellence

Mendelssohn: Symphonies and Oratorios album review – Andris Nelsons’ prodigious talent on full display

The Latvian conductor finds dynamic light and shade in seven discs’ worth of special performances with an orchestra once led by the composer himself

Anne-Sophie Mutter: East Meets West album review – diverse, bold and brand new

A varied and engaging collection of four works written for the star violinist features music by Jörg Widmann, Unsuk Chin, Thomas Adès and Aftab Darvishi

Rigoletto review – strong revival of Mears’s violent take, with Elder revelatory in the pit

There is a touch of the Tony Sopranos about George Petean’s Rigoletto, in Oliver Mears’ 2021 staging that evokes a world of privilege, misogyny and abuse. Aida Garifullina is a convincing and elegant Gilda

The Passion of Mary Magdalene review – Tansy Davies’s score is taut and intriguing

John Butt’s Dunedin Consort premiered Davies’s new Passion: a startlingly sensual meditation with a sense of ritual – and an electric guitar hidden amid the baroque instrumentation

Imeneo review – Handel in mischievous mood handled with wit and care

Cambridge Handel Opera Company capture the self-referential charm of this mid-career novelty operetta

Pagliacci review – Leoncavallo’s grand guignol staged with insight and commitment

Nineteenth-century verismo becomes 21st-century psychodrama, as English Touring Opera dramatise this tawdry tale of jealousy and violence with a keen eye for the dramatic image

The Gondoliers review – brilliantly barbed Gilbert and Sullivan is a feast for the eyes and ears

Contemporary resonances abound in English Touring Opera’s gloriously choreographed and costumed period production: a masterclass in clarity over chaos, performed with boundless enthusiasm

Johannes-Passion album review – Pygmalion are razor sharp in theatrical new recording

Raphaël Pichon’s ensemble and fine lineup of soloists bring rich expression to Bach’s dramatic oratorio – with unswerving gravitas from Huw Montague Rendall as Jesus

Through the Centuries: Songs of Madeleine Dring album review – puts paid to any idea that she was not a serious composer

Kitty Whately and Julius Drake perform the fervent, fun and intoxicating works of a British musician whose fresh assessment is richly deserved

Siegfried review – invigorating and mesmerising staging, with Schager outstanding as Wagner’s hero

The third opera of Barrie Kosky’s Ring cycle again places the naked ancient earth goddess centre stage in a thoughtful and deft production that boasts an excellent cast and orchestral playing that captures the score’s complex colours

The Kingdom: Oxford Bach Choir, BSO/Nicholas review – Elgar’s unloved oratorio sounds expansive and convincing

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Oxford Bach Choir and a fine quartet of soloists made the case for Elgar’s oratorio

Sinfonia of London/ Wilson/ Kantorow review – pushing the limits of the well-oiled orchestral machine

Conductor John Wilson and players delivered an Enigma Variations that veered between whispers and full-throttle intensity. Soloist Alexandre Kantorow, too, proved a master of extremes with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3

BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Oramo/ Son review – rainy days, rolling hills and enchanted creatures

Judith Weir’s salute to the Indian monsoon kicked off a concert on nature and folk themes, Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son brought poetic flourishes to works by Bartók and Finzi, while the magical Firebird made a rousing finale

BBCNOW/Djupsjöbacka review – Tower’s Love Returns is an uncommonly appealing piece

Joan Tower’s concerto for alto saxophone was brilliantly delivered by Steven Banks, part of a lively concert