Must-see Classical and Opera—recommendations for the months ahead

Luisa Miller, English National Opera, 12th February to 6th March

Before Rigoletto, La traviata and Il trovatore, there was Luisa Miller. In this elegant Schiller adaptation about love across the class divide we first see Verdi’s instinct for domestic relationships, his political anger and sympathy for the outsider. Take the rare opportunity to hear Verdi’s rich score in a new production by award-winning Czech director Barbora Horáková Joly. Alexander Joel conducts a tantalising cast led by lyric soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn in the title role, with Christine Rice as her rival Federica…