SALZBURG—It’s been rough going recently for operas of the Salzburg Festival’s favorite son. Martin Kušej’s production of Le nozze di Figaro last year almost seemed calculated to annoy, while the 2021 Romeo … » Read

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.—Matthew Polenzani. Tamara Wilson. Samantha Hankey. Andrea Carroll. Those names aren’t off a Met marquee. They comprised the principal cast of Ravinia’s Idomeneo , directed by James Conlon in a concert version … » Read

A performance of Silent Night , composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2011 opera, might at first seem out of place on a hot August night at Wolf Trap. “[But,]” argues Michael Andor Brodeur in … » Read

SANTA CRUZ, Ca—It took a while for the ever-adventurous Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music to get back in its old groove, what with the 2020 and 2021 seasons relegated to online and the 2022 comeback partially disrupted by an outbreak … » Read

SANTA FE, NM— “Love is terrifying,” observes the protagonist of The Righteous , the affecting new work by Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith at Santa Fe Opera . A preacher elected to be governor during the 1980s, he’s … » Read

Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen comprises more than 15 hours of music. It is little wonder, then, that there have been several efforts to condense the tetralogy into a manageable evening at the opera house. One of the more successful, … » Read

LONDON—When it comes to composer anniversaries, the BBC Proms likes to bring out the big guns. In this case it was Ferruccio Busoni, the centenary of whose death is being celebrated this year. This August 5 performance at London’s … » Read

SUFFOLK, UK—It’s a John Wilson summer in England. The inspirational conductor has been bewilderingly busy since The Merry Widow opened at Glyndebourne in June , and before that run was done he was back in business with his supergroup, … » Read

The program for weekend of July 26-28 at Tanglewood was a highlight of the season, with both the Festival of Contemporary Music and the Serge Koussevitzky 150 th celebration on offer. [See also, Part I and Part II for full coverage]. The matinee … » Read

SANTA FE, NM—The riskiest of the five productions Santa Fe Opera is presenting this season is The Righteous by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Tracy K. Smith. Risky not just in the usual sense that might apply to the unveiling of a … » Read