HOT: I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

The fortunes of unemployment meant that I was able to get to Covent Garden at 10am on a whim - and score a day ticket for a stall circle seat (practically impossible to buy normally) to the evening performance of I Capuleti e i Montecchi. I can't say much about the unfamiliar Bellini interpretation Romeo and Juliet, and a small portion of the stage was cut off from view, but to hear and see the expressions of the ultra-famous soprano Anna Netrebko at such close range, for the bargain price of 23 pounds, really added to my normal enjoyment of any ROH opera production.

NOT: Spring Awakening, Lyric Hammersmith, King St, Hammersmith W6 0QL

Yalin and I both agreed - we didn't dislike Spring Awakening, but we didn't like it either - and we wouldn't recommend it others.

I can see why the hype had built up. The adolescent search for meaning, identity and knowledge is a theme with which every audience member could identify, in their present or in their past. The teenage cast were engaging, with pretty Charlotte Wakefield (Wendla) giving a particularly standout performance with her charming, poised stage presence and beautiful ringing voice that I could have listened to forever.

However, mainly what put us off was the music, some of the singing and the somewhat amateurish choreography. The modern lyrics were incomprehensible, some of the storyline was weird (Wendla asking to be beaten), at times the singing was nasal and out of tune and the dancing/stomping/jumping made it almost like a very slick Rock Eisteddford performance.

Perhaps I would have loved it if I'd been 18....

HOT: Rigoletto, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden WC2E 9DD

It was fitting that my Valentines Day night was spent in my most-loved London building, the Royal Opera House, and for my last ever ROH performance (weep).
As a result of my packing anxieties and mental exhaustion, I didn't have time to study up on the storyline for Rigoletto, which meant the opening scene of nudity, fornication and debauchery was not at all what I was expecting. I also couldn't work out which characters were doing what. Luckily, Shani came to the rescue with an old program so in the interval I studied up on the intrigues of the deformed jester Rigoletto, his beautiful daughter Gilda and the corrupt womaniser the Duke of Mantua.

Ekaterina Siurina's ringing high notes had a beautiful pearly tone that even a recording of Maria Callas (which Shani insisted I listen to) was no comparison for me. Rigoletto also received many 'bravos' for his performance, especially at the climax when he discovered Gilda's body. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the most recognisable aria in the opera 'La donna è mobile' was marred by memories of the jingle for Leggo's Pasta Sauce ("Leggo's Authentico....").

HOT: Don Giovanni, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

I had a patchy response to this production of Don Giovanni. On the one hand, Marina Poplavskaya's Donna Anna held a admirably warm tone given her respiratory infection, Miah Persoon's Zerlina was lithe and charming (and in my view had the best melodies) and Joyce DiDonato's had sung beautifully, holding delicate high notes, as Donna Elvira. Simon Keenlyside (who I enjoyed so much as Papageno) was appropriately louche and arrogant as the degenerate Don Giovanni, and there was great energy with his cheeky servant Leporello, sung by Kyle Ketelsen. My favourite part was the finale, with the thrillingly spooky fires of hell and the Commendatore's booming, ominous bass. On the other hand, I wasn't impressed by Ramon Vargas as Don Ottavio - I thought his voice sounded a bit reedy and without a solid foundation to round off the sound. I really disliked the set, which reminded me of the frosted glass walls of a public pool in a semi-circle shape. Finally, there is a black hole in the action and the music in the middle of the second Act which did little for my concentration, except for a witty reference to Le Nozze di Figaro.

HOT: West Side Story 50th Anniversary Show, Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue EC1R 4TN

The hottest dance ticket in town this month is this fantastically dynamic production of one of my favourite musicals, West Side Story, at Sadler's Wells. The snappy dancing, the beautiful singing (especially from Tony, who I normally think is a bit of a wet character), the humour and pathos! I can't believe that one mainstream reviewer said that the musical was looking aged and needed updating. Fifty years on, Jerome Robbins' electric choreography is still jaw-droppingly athletic, from the first finger-clicks of the Overture to the dynamic "Mambo!" and "America". Plus, as London suffers from a wave of senseless knife crime committed by gangs of youths, what could be more relevant than a show where young men stab each other over territory and bonds of gang brotherhood.

In fact, the show was so good that I'm tempted to see it again when it goes on tour at New Wimbledon Theatre from 14 October to 1 November.

HOT: Brief Encounter, Cinema on the Haymarket, 63 – 65 The Haymarket SW1Y 4RL

David Lean's classic film Brief Encounter premiered at the cinema on the Haymarket almost 60 years ago, and today in the same cinema you can experience a wonderfully innovative stage production of the Noel Coward story by Kneehigh Theatre. The clever staging is interspersed with film, songs, music-hall vaudeville, puppetry and modern dance (they even serve sandwiches at interval!) and all the actors sing or play instruments. It's 2 hours of absolute charm and delight, yet the poignancy of a love story that can never be can still wrench your heart. Go now - the production ends on 19 October and you can currently buy 2 for 1 tickets.

HOT: Monkey: Journey to the West, Royal Opera House

It's great to know that Damon Albarn isn't just a poncy private schoolboy pretending to be a rockstar. Together with James Hewlett, his Gorillaz collaborator and the Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng, he has created a rocking, colourful and energetically vibrant modern opera performed in the grand ornate Royal Opera House. The production is based on the ancient Chinese story of the Monkey King and his journey to the west (India) with his troupe: Tripitaka, Pigsy, Sandy and the Dragon Prince. Tim, being a Monkey Magic fan from childhood, was able to follow the story much better than me, but the wonderful combination of jaw-dropping Chinese acrobatics, funky video interludes and creative sets (my favourite being the giant floating Buddha hand) made it a very enjoyable production. I would love to see it again, if only to see the quarter of the stage that was obscured from our stall circle seats.

Update 5 August 2008: Albarn and Hewlett have brought Monkey and his friends together for the BBC's title sequence for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I really love it - it's unusual, witty and fun!

HOT: Le Nozze di Figaro, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Delightfull and light-hearted (albeit a bit too long), Le Nozze di Figaro remains my favourite opera - it's filled with gorgeous lilting melodies, from the overture to Cherubino's charming arias, which means I don't have to follow the surtitles for much of it but can just let the music take over. This production has a fantastic classical stage set and makes the most of the opportunities for comedy. I think most of the audience enjoyed it as much as I did, enthusiastically bravo-ing the cast, especially Aleksandra Kurzak as Susanna and Anna Bonitatibus as Cherubino, and one man boomed out 'cinque....dieci....trenta' as he left the opera house.

HOT: Tosca at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

My overriding impression of Puccini's glorious 'melodrama in three acts' was Jonas Kaufmann's sex appeal, which radiated even to the upper reaches of the Royal Opera House amphitheatre. Good looking, swarthy and passionate, he was the perfect Cavaradossi - besides which his voice was stunning. He even overshadowed the main character, a rather 'bouncy' Tosca who hammed up the drama to an almost comical degree (Shani told me that when a Tosca is particularly large-boned, when she throws herself to her death she has been to known bounce right back up from the mattress hidden on the stage floor).

HOT: Salome at Royal Opera House

My second opera experience at the ROH was very different to the Magic Flute. This production of Salome was set in an underground, starkly tiled space a la public toilet/abbatoir/dungeon which was manned by Teutonic stormtroopers. It turned incredible bloody (decapitation and stabbings), with some random male and female full frontal nudity. Although I did have trouble following the music, I thought Salome, a tiny flame-haired woman with an enormous voice, was brilliant.

HOT: Die Zauberflote, Royal Opera House

My first opera at the ROH and it was the delightful Magic Flute by Mozart. Simon Keenlyside as Papageno stole the show with his comic timing, sweet pathos and the best songs, while Erika Miklosa was fantastical with the famous Queen of the Night aria (although slipping a few of the high notes). A magical set was completed by a flying winged carriage and a large serpent.

HOT: Lord of the Rings Musical

The staging and special effects are amazing, the dancing and acrobatics are energetic and the incidential music creates the right atmosphere of doom and gloom for this adventuare into Middle Earth. Unfortunately it's let down by the terrible songs and twee scripting, especially in the cobbled-together love story between Strider and Arwen.

HOT: Billy Elliot at Victoria Palace

This hit musical just reinforced my penchant for skinny white boys and ballet dancers. I particularly enjoyed 'Merry Christmas Margaret Thatcher' with MT puppets and the pas de deux between Billy the boy and Billy as a young man, both while turning a chair under their hands (very tricky). It is a great adaptation of the film, and the boy who plays Billy really holds everything together - great acting, spirited dancing, fancy acrobatics. Standing ovations all around.

HOT: Spamalot, Palace Theatre

This beautiful Victorian theatre’s façade is currently built like a Roman battlement because it’s hosting Spamalot, a musical based on the Monty Python movie. The production includes all the silliness and ridiculous comedy you’d expect from a 2 hour Monty Python sketch, and features your usual singing and dancing interspersed with coconut shell horse-riding, French soldiers who ‘fart in your direction’, baguette sword fighting, hairy Cousin It-styled Knights who say ‘Nee’ and a ferocious teeth-baring rabbit puppet. And to top it off – an audience singalong to ‘Always Look On The Bright Side of Life’.

HOT: Mary Poppins at Prince Edward Theatre

This production is definitely SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEDIALIDOCIOUS (with manic clapping dance moves to match). The songs and story are happily familiar, but having it transformed into a stage production was just magical. Seeing rosy-cheeked Mary Poppins taking her hatstand out of her carpet bag, the amazing 3 storeyed Banks house (complete with cosy furnishings) and seeing Burt dance upside down on the ceiling of the stage made for an absolutely delightful experience.

HOT: The Car Man at Sadlers Wells

Steamy and sexy (and that was just the first 5 minutes in the nude shower scene) this was the Ravel's Carmen reimagined in a small American town in the 50s. The action was set around a garage (Car Man - geddit?), a haughty woman, a stranger strolling into town, betrayal and murder. I loved the music, set and costumes but I didn't always love Matthew Bourne's choreography - call me parochial but give me Graeme Murphy any day.