The COVID-19 pandemic may have put paid to live performances, but so far it’s had little effect on the steady flow of recordings—and especially of new music—coming onto the market. Here are seven of the most interesting recent … » Read

The Metropolitan Opera’s April 25 At-Home Gala was a welcome ray of light and a credit to the determination of General Manager Peter Gelb to keep opera—and the Met in particular—in the public spotlight. Hosted by Gelb and Met … » Read

One of Gustavo Dudamel’s first acts as music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic was to appoint John Adams to the newly created position of Creative Chair, cementing a relationship with the orchestra that already dated … » Read

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