Madama Butterfly / Der Rosenkavalier

Composers: Puccini / Richard Strauss Directors: Annilese Miskimmon / Richard Jones Conductors: Omer Meir Wellber / Robin Ticciati Glyndebourne, East Sussex (01273-815000). Until 18 July / 26 June Running times: 3hrs 50mins / 5hrs 5mins (incl. intervals)

I have no idea why one of Puccini’s most popular operas has never been mounted at Glyndebourne before, but Annilese Miskimmon’s production is “well worth the 80-year wait”, said Richard Morrison in The Times. In a clever staging that was tried out on a 2016 tour, the director updates the setting to the 1950s, placing the familiar action in the context of the American war brides scheme, which let servicemen who married abroad bring their brides home. The production depicts the sordid child prostitution of Act I with “unflinching directness”, yet has a striking visual beauty thanks to the “ingenious” sets of Nicky Shaw. Translucent screens and wooden trellises glide between Goro’s seedy “marriage bureau”, Butterfly’s house, and layers of trees and starlit sky.

The production has been reworked and improved since its touring incarnation, said Tim Ashley in The Guardian. This time round, “greater subtlety of detail, combined with striking performances, allows the drama to fully hit home”. As Butterfly, the Moldovan soprano Olga Busuioc has “exceptional” dynamics and tone colour, letting her capture both the naivety of the opening scenes and the tragic emotions of the later acts. Joshua Guerrero is “winsomely melodious” as Pinkerton, said Michael Church in The Independent. And there’s another fine performance from Elizabeth Deshong as Suzuki. In sum, this is “the most sensitive and satisfying retelling of the tale I have seen in years”.

If only the same was true of Der Rosenkavalier, said Rupert Christiansen in The Daily Telegraph. In the four years since I saw Richard Jones’s production, “I’d forgotten quite how visually hideous it is”. Paul Steinberg’s sets have a “headache-inducing quality”, and the whole tenor of the staging is one of “sophomoric cynicism”. This “eye-wateringly ugly” show is best enjoyed with your eyes shut, said Richard Fairman in the FT. Down in the pit, the London Philharmonic Orchestra is “on top form”: elegant, detailed and beautiful.