It’s the third weekend of the year and we have a number of great productions to recommend. For this weekend, we’re looking at three of Puccini’s most popular operas and two lesser-known classics that are getting new productions.

La Bohème – Australian Opera, Australia

Joyce El-Khoury takes on the title role of Mimì alongside Ivan Magrì as Rodolfo.  Nicholas Milton conducts the production by Gale Edwards, which also stars Anna Princeva as Musetta and  Samuel Dundas as Marcello.

Tosca – Wiener Staatsoper, Austria

Kristine Opolais takes on the title role, which OperaWire called a triumph when she sang it in Tanglewood. Vittorio Grigolo stars alongside Opolais as Cavaradossi with Marco Vratogna as Scarpia. Evelino Pidò conducts Margarethe Wallmann’s classic production.

Madama Butterfly – Royal Opera Muscat, Oman

Maria Jose Siri takes on her signature role in Puccini’s masterpiece, alongside Roberto Aronica as Pinkerton, George Gagnidze as Sharpless and Veronica Simeoni as Suzuki. Marco Armiliato conducts the Bilbao Orchestra. The co-production between Festival Castell Peralada and Deutsche Oper Rhein is by Joan Antón Rechi.

I Lombardi – Bilbao Opera, Spain

José Bros, Ekaterina Metlova, and Roberto Tagliavini star in a new production of Verdi’s rarely performed work. Riccardo Frizza conducts the Teatro Regio di Parma production by Lamberto Puggelli.

The Queen of Spades – Royal Opera House, United Kingdom

Eva-Maria Westbroek, Felicity Palmer and Aleksandrs Antonenko star in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades.” The new production by Stefan Herheim is conducted by Antonio Pappano and also showcases John Lundgren. Those not in London will be able to see a performance from the run in cinemas later this month.