August 19, 1990, marked Leonard Bernstein’s final concert at Tanglewood. The legendary maestro managed to get through most of it, gasping from the emphysema that would become fatal pneumonia only a few weeks later. But after the “Four … » Read

In New York City, opera gets tons of love. So do symphony orchestras. And we’re awash in piano recitals and string quartets. But wind ensembles? Not so much. Founded in 1961, the Dorian Wind Quintet has among its claims to fame the … » Read

It was nearly 30 years ago that William Christie and Les Arts Florissants first brought their epochal production of Lully’s Atys to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. For many of those who saw it and the other operatic tragedies from the French … » Read

On April 17 and 18 the Metropolitan Opera offered Massenet’s Cendrillon and Verdi’s Luisa Miller , both serendipitously conducted by Bertrand de Billy. I went expecting to be charmed by the former and informed by the latter – … » Read

MADRID – On paper, the idea made sense. Following Deborah Warner’s production of Billy Budd , co-produced last season with the Royal Opera House and the Rome Opera, the Teatro Real on April 12 launched David McVicar’s new … » Read

LONDON--The tale of how Glyndebourne was created cries out for dramatization. Riddled with old-fashioned English eccentricity, never-say-die spirit, and with a love story at its heart, it could have made a good opera libretto. What it has become … » Read