The sound of music

If you want a change from Glyndebourne, Garsington and The Grange, but Glastonbury is not to your taste, try Europe’s best classical and opera festivals, suggests Carla Passino

- Carla Passino

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Aix-en-Provence, France

June 30–July 18

Set against the striking backdrop of the Archbishop’s Palace, this festival has an eclectic programme that mixes crowd-pleasers (Così Fan Tutte by Mozart) and lesser-known operas (Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel) with classical concerts (Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra will play Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Mahler’s Symphony No 4 in G Major) and more unusual offerings, such as the UNESCO-recognised polyphonic songs of Sardinian ensemble Tenores di Bitti (www.festival-aix.com).

Savonlinna Opera Festival, Savonlinna, Finland

July 3–August 1