CHICAGO—May there be more fairytale stories like Gabriela Lara’s in the brutal world of orchestra auditions. In 2022, the Venezuela-born violinist became the inaugural recipient of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Fellowship Program, … » Read

Anna Netrebko has withdrawn from her planned role debut in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at the Vienna State Opera and been replaced by [ Musical America 2024 Artist of the Year ] Lise Davidsen in a switch of star sopranos. “Ill health this … » Read

Herewith, in chronological order, our second annual end-of-the-year roundup of Musical America’s New Artists of the Month, from sopranos to sackbut and saxophone players, all fresh on the path to major careers. Ben Goldscheider . Listening … » Read

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann sits at the pinnacle of today’s opera world. As he recently recalled for an interviewer, his 2006 debut at the Metropolitan Opera with Angela Gheorghiu in Verdi's La traviata “radically changed my career.” … » Read

Pierre Boulez died on January 5, 2016 at age 90 in Baden-Baden. Now the German city in which French-born composer, conductor, and writer had lived and worked for over 60 years is planning the centenary celebration of his 1925 birth. “Pierre … » Read

As the Year 2024 closes, we remember those we lost and their milestone contributions. A list follows: Arlene Croce , December 16 at age 90. Most revered and most feared dance critic at The New Yorker from 1973 to 1996. Balanchine was the ideal, … » Read

Twelve of the most challenging minutes in all of opera are the two coloratura arias sung by the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute . And these days no one seems to sing them better than Kathryn Lewek, as evident in her recent … » Read

To demonstrate that opera is not “an antique genre preoccupied with musty subject matter,” The New Yorker critic Alex Ross looks back over a season that included a “striking array of contemporary works.” The Metropolitan … » Read

The Mellon Foundation has appointed a new program director for arts and culture to succeed Emil J. Kang, who steps down at the end of the year. The announcement of Kang's successor, Deana Haggag, a program officer, is the first public news of his … » Read

Christoph Meyer has announced that he will resign as general director of the Deutsche Oper am Rheim after more than 15 seasons on March 30, 2025. “Unfortunately… I had to accept that my state of health does not allow me to continue … » Read