I’ve just spent a lot more time that I can afford lost in this wonderful historic opera site. It’s chock full of old postcards, photographs and sheet music covers and you trip over elegantly dressed folk on almost every page.

Two of my favourite images so far are the ones above. On the left is Maria Kuznetsova as Cléopâtre in Massenet’s opera of that name; and on the right is Bernardo De Muro as Folco, the falconer, in Mascagni’s Isabeau. Very different roles, but I thought the two of them looked very good together.

[By the way, the ‘recent comments’ thingy in the menu bar broke. I’ll put it back the moment I’ve worked out how to mend it].