Paul Robeson was much more than just a singer. A consummate stage and film actor, an all-American football player, a qualified lawyer, and a tireless advocate for civil rights, he was an outspoken critic of racism, colonialism, and social … » Read

Anthony Roth Costanzo’s postmodern version of Le nozze di Figaro is by its very nature a tour de force. Fashioned as a showcase for the star countertenor, it keeps his all-but-superhuman energy front and center. In it, he sings all of … » Read

Working festival performances into your summer vacation in Europe can anchor your visit around memorable musical experiences. This summer, I was lucky enough to be in Stockholm when opera was on the boards at Drottningholms Slottstheater, a World … » Read

In a world full of doom and gloom, music inevitably feels a duty to confront and question. And yet once, its primary purpose was merely to please and entertain, an often-forgotten element celebrated in these four recent releases. John Alden … » Read

SUFFOLK, U.K.—Less than a week after their triumphant Prom performance of Britten’s War Requiem , Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra traveled to that same composer’s home turf to give another thrilling … » Read

Written for the Mariinsky Theater’s 1916-17 season, but canceled due to the Revolution, Prokofiev’s The Gambler could plausibly lend itself to an interpretation involving issues of social justice. Apropos of Peter Sellars’s … » Read

LONDON—This August 24 Prom at the Royal Albert Hall had several drawcards. The first was a chance to hear the BBC Symphony Orchestra (the festival’s house band) playing under principal guest conductor Dalia Stasevska. A … » Read

LONDON—The BBC Proms appear to be going gangbusters this year with most events packed to the rafters. This Royal Albert Hall appearance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was no exception, despite the program being a grab bag of … » Read

HOLLYWOOD—Over the last three decades, Stravinsky’s evergreen, ever-daring Rite of Spring has been played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic mainly as the prerogative of its music directors—first Esa-Pekka Salonen and then Gustavo … » Read

HIGHLAND PARK, IL—The lecture-recital needle is a tough one to thread. Go too broad, and the lecturer risks condescending to listeners. Go too narrow, and the program ends up sounding like a paper talk at a musicology conference. Pianist … » Read