Best Concerts and Opera in January

VOCES8 with Eric Whitacre, Voices Unwrapped

Opening the year-long Voices Unwrapped festival of song at Kings Place, the very fine chamber choir VOCES8 is joined by a composer of instantly likeable new music, Eric Whitacre (pictured). He presents the one-hour concert, featuring his own The Sacred Veil, a story of life, love and loss, and two VOCES8 commissions from Jocelyn Hagen, and Kings Place’s artist-in-focus, baritone and composer Roderick Williams. Delectable.

London Philharmonic Orchestra and Marin Alsop

Marin Alsop (pictured) is always a favourite when she guests with the LPO. Here she is joined by Austrian-Iranian cellist Kian Soltani for Shostakovich's churning Cello Concerto No 1. Two symphonies bookend the concerto: American composer Samuel Barber's lyrical, one-movement Symphony No 1 and Brahms's sweeping Symphony No 4. A terrific programme.

Nabucco, Royal Opera House

With the original December first night cancelled, this welcome revival of Daniele Abbado's 2013 production of Verdi's powerful opera finally gets into its stride. Two casts include Liudmyla Monastyrska (pictured) as Abigaille, daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonians. Listen out for 'Va pensiero' from the mighty Royal Opera Chorus, enduring anthem of oppressed peoples.

Steven Isserlis plays Haydn

One of the most loved works in the cello repertoire, Haydn's Cello Concerto No 1 in C, is played by the masterly Steven Isserlis with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Philip Herreweghe. A joyful Bach suite opens the concert which closes with Mozart's Symphony No 39, one of three symphonies the Austrian composed in 1788, at the height of his powers. Take a budding cellist!

Belcea Quartet and Quatuor Ebène

Two of the most exciting string quartets today come together to play two great octets. Mendelssohn's sumptuous Octet is well known and loved, but here too is the String Octet in C by Romanian composer George Enescu (1881-1955), premiered in 1909 and hugely influenced by the 16-year-old prodigy Mendelssohn's youthful masterpiece. So popular will this programme be, there are two performances.

Raymonda, English National Ballet, Coliseum

Some of the best live music in London is not played for the opera stage or concert audience, but for dancing. Here is a great and collectible rarity – the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov's magnificent score for Marius Petipa's ballet Raymonda. This refreshed version for English National Ballet by artistic director Tamara Rojo explores the music to the full.

Raw Emotion, Endless Peace

Expect drama and insightful attention to detail in the London Philharmonic Orchestra's reading of Tchaikovsky’s fateful Fourth Symphony under principal guest conductor Karina Canellakis (pictured). Christian Tetzlaff is the big-name soloist in forceful Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No 2 . Opening the programme, Russian composer Victoria Borisova-Ollas's visionary The Kingdom of Silence.

Trumpet Sounds, English Chamber Orchestra

This will shake up the new year: trumpet soloists Paul Merkelo and Neil Brough join the English Chamber Orchestra under conductor Adrien Perruchon in a double concerto by Vivaldi, while Merkelo plays trumpet concertos by Tartini and Haydn, all three works glowing with brassy colour. Also played, music by Bartók, and Stravinsky's playful Pulcinella Suite. This is a really lively programme for young music-lovers too.

Aci, Galatea and Polifemo

Clarinet Celebrations

Mark Mozart's birthday – he was born on this day in 1756 – with clarinettist Michael Collins, who celebrates his own 60th birthday with the London Mozart Players under Simon Blendis. The clarinet takes centre stage, with the much-loved concertos by Mozart and by Weber, and the flamboyant Starburst by Jessie Montgomery. Perfect for any family's own clarinettist.

Alina Ibragimova and the LSO

Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in a fabulous programme, featuring the thrilling violinist Alina Ibragimova in Mozart's Violin Concerto No 5. Opening the programme, Ravel's picturesque Le Tombeau de Couperin, and to close, Tchaikovsky's passionate Symphony No 5. A terrific programme for new concert-goers.

Theodora, Royal Opera House

Handel's great opera is staged for the first time at the Royal Opera House since the composer's day, when it was premiered at the theatre on the same Covent Garden site – in March 1750! In Katie Mitchell's new production, the thoroughly modern heroine stands her ground in the face of persecution. Mezzo-sopranos Joyce DiDonato (pictured) and Julia Bullock share the title role. Listen out for the arias 'As with rosy steps the morn' and 'Lord to Thee each night and day'.