So which house has the best 2012-13 season? The Bavarian State Opera is a strong contender. With many productions sprinkled lavishly with stars, and interesting (if not quite cutting-edge) directors, there's little on their schedule I wouldn't be thrilled to see.
For a start, there are productions of nearly all the major Wagner operas to celebrate Wagnerjahr 2013. The new Andreas Kriegenburg Ring cycle returns in January 2013. Peter Konwitschny's Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde and Der fliegende Holländer join Richard Jones's Lohengrin and David Alden's Tannhäuser to complete the list.
The season's premieres include two new operas. One is Babylon by Jörg Widmann, which will be produced by La Fura dels Baus. The other is George Benjamin's Written on Skin (also on the Covent Garden schedule).
Calixto Bieito's infamous 'maze' Fidelio returns, and he also directs a new production of Boris Godunov. Richard Jones's WNO/Met Hänsel und Gretel makes its Munich premiere in March after a final outing for the current production in December.
There's plenty to satisfy Jonas Kaufmann fans, starting with a new Olivier Py production of Il trovatore, where he's joined by Anja Harteros and Alexey Markov. He also turns up in revivals of the Luc Bondy Tosca, and with Rene Pape and Anja Harteros in Don Carlo.
Further starry highlights are a new production of Rigoletto starring Joseph Calleja, and Joyce DiDonato in I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
