For many, Jonas Kaufmann’s assumption of the title role in Verdi’s Otello was the anticipated operatic event of 2017. At the time, reviews were mixed. Despite his darkly burnished tone, some felt the German tenor’s voice was … » Read

What do you do when you find yourself sitting around in airports, on planes, or in hotel bedrooms? If you’re international concert pianist Stephen Hough, you get out a notebook and jot down ideas. For years, many of his musings—or … » Read

The following review of Tristan und Isolde was posted on September 28, 2016, within days of its production premiere at the Metropolitan Opera; the opera being streamed from the Met Opera site tonight is the live HD version of the performance … » Read

In keeping with the current spate of free streams available, Musical America will post its archived reviews of the original productions. Here is George Loomis’s review of the Carmen the Met is currently streaming on its website, originally … » Read

Washington, D.C.-based Opera Lafayette’s highly welcome production of Beethoven’s Leonore , seen on March 4 at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse, gave Beethoven enthusiasts much food for thought. Even the title raised an issue. … » Read

LONDON—The U.K.’s dearth of Fidelio s is at an end. It’s been years since the last sighting of Beethoven’s only opera, but to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth three major new stagings are scheduled, none more hotly … » Read

BOSTON--Unlikely as it seems, Mitch McConnell launched a feminist rallying cry. “Nevertheless, she persisted,” he said sarcastically of Elizabeth Warren, as she tried to read a letter by Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor. (The … » Read

LOS ANGELES—Mounting an opera is complicated, and Yuval Sharon’s company The Industry makes it even more so, on purpose. Sweet Land , its latest attempt to push out the walls of the opera house and sprawl into the surrounding … » Read

Canadian director François Girard came to prominence at the Metropolitan Opera as the result of a single production,  Parsifal,  in 2013. Primarily known for his work in film, Girard has had little experience in other opera … » Read

The San Francisco Symphony’s Esa-Pekka Salonen era hasn’t officially begun. Yet Salonen, who was named the organization’s Music Director Designate last December, has already begun putting his indelible stamp on the orchestra. … » Read