The action is grittier, the stakes (and skirts) raised higher, and the orchestral noises louder than anything else of its time: if Puccini’s realist operas are verismo then Wolf-Ferrari’s 1911 I gioielli della Madonna is verissimo.

Powered by some of the lushest arias and duets in the canon, Bizet’s pearl-fishers have become synonymous with Oriental chic. But one could argue – as Penny Woolcock did in her 2010 production for ENO – that this opera’s ‘savage’ backdrop has more relevance today than it did in 1863.

Watch the videos below for a taster of some of the outdoor events taking place this summer:

Annual house price increases in England were driven by a 7.6% rise in London and a 3.3% increase in the South East

Significant regional differences around the UK still apparent

In his latest dispatch, Michael Volpe reveals how music is crucial to Alice

Greece has sold the luxurious British home of its former consul for £23.3m in a bid to reduce its mountain of public debt.

Do you have to be a diva to take on Tosca?

At least, that's what Michael Winner hoped it would be worth. That now looks unlikely

The first of a monthly report from Michael Volpe on the trials of staging a show

Ab Fab's Olympics special trails behind Twenty Twelve

Stag beetles, bats and rainy days are among the many hazards of outdoor performances, says Michael Volpe, of Opera Holland Park

Stag beetles and bats are among the hazards of outdoor performances, says Michael Volpe, head of Opera Holland Park. And don't get him started on the weather...