Last week, the Shanghai Grand Theater announced a timely return to presenting international events in 2023-24. The coming season marks the performing arts center’s 25 th anniversary, with 58 different productions and a total of 480 … » Read

On Aug. 18 the San Francisco International Piano Festival launches a two-week series of solo recitals at a variety of venues in the area. Pianist Jeffrey LaDeur conceived the idea of a festival in 2017. “It seemed strange to me that there … » Read

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is undeniably one of the most fashionable maestros on the international stage. So, his attire at an open rehearsal by The Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga Springs, NY, on Aug 12 caught everyone’s … » Read

The financial realities of post-pandemic life have caught up with Opera Philadelphia. Straitened circumstances are necessitating a 20 percent budget cut, from $13.3mn to $11mn (from a high of $18mn in 2018); the elimination of six staff … » Read

SALZBURG, Austria—The opera world is split in two: European regietheater productions reinvent works in ways composers never imagined, while traditional stagings favored in the U.S. and parts of Italy are condemned by some cognoscenti as … » Read

The pandemic provided an opportunity for considerable soul searching in the world of classical music. One topic that received careful scrutiny was touring . Was it still financially feasible? Did it make sense in a performance universe … » Read

After 58 years, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is to get a permanent home—its first—in Little Rock. On Aug. 12 the ASO broke ground for the new $11.75 million Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, a 20,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art … » Read

Pointing to “economic headwinds,” the Metropolitan Opera Guild has declared it will be “scaling back,” as in laying off some 20 employees and ceasing publication of Opera News magazine as a standalone entity.  … » Read

Given the profile, context, and treatment of women in opera, it’s not surprising to discover that having an intimacy coordinator involved in staging a traditional opera, with its outdated views, is as important as having one on hand for … » Read

The Philadelphia Symphonic Choir has unionized after a majority of its members signed union cards authorizing the American Guild of Musical Artists to bargain on their behalf. The process took about 20 months and was facilitated when POKC … » Read