The New York Philharmonic is winding up its current season with a series of concerts provocatively titled “Music of Conscience.” Featuring works by composers responding to political tyranny (Beethoven and Shostakovich on this first … » Read

On Thursday, May 16 th , Music of the Americas presented the New York premiere of Claude Vivier’s opera Kopernikus (1979) at Issue Project Room in Downtown Brooklyn. Vivier (1943-1983) was born in Montreal and spent time in the 1970s in … » Read

GLYNDEBOURNE—There were fireworks onstage and off for the launch of Glyndebourne’s 85 th season on May 18. Patrons were invited to stand on the lawn at the end of the evening as the skies lit up to mark the 25th anniversary of the … » Read

It’s a brave Brit who labels his program “England’s Orpheus” with all the attendant expectations, but fortunately Iestyn Davies has the musical chops to back it up. The British countertenor’s May 16 recital in the … » Read

Frequently feted during his lifetime but even more frequently misunderstood, left-wing German composer Hans Werner Henze’s “Cuban years” are perhaps the least appreciated period in a long and multi-stylistic musical career. … » Read

NEW YORK - Owen Wingrave was originally composed for television and telecast by the BBC in 1971. Later it was staged at Covent Garden and brought to Santa Fe Opera in 1974. Wingrave is the second of Benjamin Britten’s operas to be based on … » Read

WASHINGTON, D.C.--When opera singers turn to the rarified domain of the song recital, the results too often prove disappointing. The perceived need to prove one's bona fides across a range of repertory—German lieder, French chansons, … » Read

New York City Ballet’s May 2 Spring Gala program book included the line, “Tonight we celebrate the Company’s rich history and bright future.” Placed directly beneath the names of its newly appointed artistic directors, … » Read

Thrill seekers looking to witness Plácido Domingo etch yet another notch in his record-setting belt should get themselves to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles by May 19, when El Gato Mont é s closes. The title character … » Read

BRUSSELS—There is plenty of visual business to divert the eye in La Monnaie’s abstract new staging of Tristan und Isolde , most of it slow-moving and much of it puzzling. While a touch of mystery is no bad thing—scenic realism … » Read