It has been 14 years since Gustavo Dudamel burst on the scene with a spectacular showing at the 2004 Bamberg Symphony Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition. Since then he has honed his skills in a wide range of repertoire, including opera. In … » Read

It must be quite a thrill for a student orchestra to be conducted by America’s best-known living composer, and in a substantial piece of his own music to boot. Kudos then to the Juilliard School and John Adams for making this December 10 … » Read

NEW YORK—Raw rage and political engagement were the driving forces behind Mark-Anthony Turnage’s debut opera Greek . Familiar enough for a young artist just setting out, such motivations can make a powerful initial impact but tend to … » Read

MILAN--Arguably Europe’s most important cultural event, opening night at La Scala always falls on December 7, the feast day of the city’s patron saint, St. Ambrose. The usual gathering of Italian politicians, second-tier celebrities, … » Read

Did you know that the first shot from a member of the British forces in the First World War was fired by an African? And in Africa? The man was part of the British West African Frontier Force, which was in the process of invading the German … » Read

Verdi’s “lost one” found her way once again to the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday for the sixth new production of La Traviata since the company moved to Lincoln Center in 1966. Perhaps in response to its previous staging, Willy … » Read

It’s heartening to see a fine work like Julia Wolfe’s 2015 Pulitzer prize-winning Anthracite Fields slowly but surely make its way into the repertoire. It’s also rare to hear new music that offers social comment without ramming … » Read

NAPLES, Italy—Riccardo Muti has generally steered clear of staged opera in recent years, preferring to showcase his Verdi in concert, a format perfected in Chicago and last summer in Florence and Ravenna, Italy, with Macbeth . But that … » Read

CHICAGO – If the big operas of Paul Hindemith, including Cardillac (1926) and Mathis der Maler (1935), have largely been ignored by major opera companies in recent decades, the relatively modest demands of the German composer’s … » Read

LOS ANGELES – At various points during its centennial season, the Los Angeles Philharmonic is giving prime-time exposure to Fluxus, one of the most—if not the most—controversial artistic concepts of the 1960s and `70s, and … » Read