John Harte has been named managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). He succeeds Dame Kathryn McDowell , who will step down at summer’s end in 2026 after 20 years in the role. Harte comes to the LSO from the Aurora Orchestra … » Read

Tracy Wenckus began work as the interim general director of the Portland (OR) Opera as of January 1, 2026, succeeding Sue Dixon, who retired after six years in the job. Wenckus has been with the company since 1999 and is the current general … » Read

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may have his name on the building, but it’s still the Kennedy Center to Congress. A bipartisan spending package released Monday by House Speaker Mike Johnson includes $32 million for operating … » Read

Banjo player Béla Fleck was to have performed his own arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the National Symphony Orchestra next month. But, like many before him, he has withdrawn due to the MAGA stronghold at the Center, … » Read

Bruce Crawford, whose leadership in many guises steered The Metropolitan Opera through the last quarter of the 20 th century, died on December 30. He was 97. Crawford entered the advertising business in 1956, and over the next 30 years rose to … » Read

In December, László Krasznahorkai became only the second Hungarian writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature; Imre Kertész was the first, in 2002. Although the 71-year-old author is critical of the right-wing Hungarian … » Read

Semyon Bychkov will succeed Gustavo Dudamel as music director of the Paris Opera starting in August 2028, the company’s General Director Alexander Neef said Tuesday. The 73-year-old Bychkov agreed to a four-year contract and will conduct … » Read

In October, l'Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen posted on YouTube its recent staging of  La traviata (Sept.30-Oct. 7) . The word-of-mouth that followed reached my inbox, so I investigated: The immediacy of Chelsea Lehnea’s … » Read

Stephen Schwartz, best known as the composer of Wicked , along with Pippin, Godspell, and portions of Bernstein’s Mass , which opened the Kennedy Center in 1971, has cancelled his appearance at the Washington National Opera gala in May. The … » Read

Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s path to the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day concert started when he replaced a banned Russian conductor at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2022 with the help of a pianist who traveled … » Read