When audiences come to see a story ballet as part of American Ballet Theatre’s Metropolitan Opera House season, they expect a grand affair: opulent sets, lavish costumes, and drama and romance played out through virtuosic one-upmanship. … » Read

MILFORD HAVEN, Wales—Welsh National Opera could probably do with a few laughs at the moment. Having bid farewell to Artistic Director David Pountney (he leaves this summer) amid talk of falling audiences, it now sees managing director … » Read

OJAI, CA—Historically, the venerable, incorrigibly adventurous Ojai Festival has appointed a conductor to be its annual music director. There are a few exceptions, including the ensemble Eighth Blackbird and soprano Dawn Upshaw. But there … » Read

Suppose the number of soldiers who died in the First World War was less important than their relative heights? What if our news consisted purely of silent imagery rather than being illuminated (or obfuscated) by the spoken word? And is it … » Read

CHICAGO—The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has teamed up with the Art Institute of Chicago for chamber concerts at the museum. Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Music Director Sir Andrew Davis is a frequent CSO guest conductor. For seven seasons … » Read

Let’s get the gripe out of the way first. The New York Philharmonic’s season-closing “Music of Conscience” series is a very fine idea, but what Brahms’s Tragic Overture and Mozart’s C Minor Piano Concerto have … » Read

American Ballet Theatre’s annual Metropolitan Opera House season, now in its third week, is celebrating the tenth anniversary of Alexei Ratmansky’s tenure as the company’s artist in residence. His 16th ballet for ABT, The … » Read

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UK—Among the U.K.’s ever-growing manifest of country-house opera companies, there are two that stand out. Glyndebourne remains the pack leader, by some distance, but the summer rival that has that house’s … » Read

MILAN--An event as self-consciously conspicuous as Beijing’s first China International Piano Competition was always bound to court controversy. When 18-year-old Canadian Tony Siqi Yun won the first prize of $150,000, commentators suggested … » Read

There can be little doubt they broke the mold when they made Meredith Monk. Still going strong at 76, the American composer, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer is unique, an artist who has been strutting her stuff since the 1960s and cut her … » Read