English National Opera boasts 12 new productions

There is a combination of opera and dance in early November with a double bill of Bartok's "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" and Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring."

The season ends with a new work by theater group Punchdrunk.

"What makes the season stand out ... is the introduction of innovative theatrical strategies of juxtaposing opera and ballet, harnessing the 'total theatre' of La Fura dels Baus, staging Handel's ever-popular Messiah, not to mention the intriguing prospect of collaboration with Punchdrunk," classical music website www.musicalcriticism.com said.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)