Classical Music Awards: Opera Production of the Year - Pelleas et Melisande, Welsh National Opera: Artists strike triumphant note on big awards night

THIS is the production that brought together the stage director Peter Stein, the conductor Pierre Boulez, and the vocal finesse of a largely British cast. It made a culminating tribute to the vision of Brian McMaster's years in charge of the company - he has now moved on to the Edinburgh Festival - and to WNO's continuing vitality under the general directorship of Matthew Epstein. A co-production with the Chatelet in Paris, it was by common consent a feat of theatrical imagination and musical finesse; beautifully designed, too, by Karl- Ernst Herrmann. The cast included Alison Hagley, Neill Archer, Donald Maxwell, and the American, Kenneth Cox.