SAN FRANCISCO—Dressed in sober street clothes—dark suits, sweaters, long dresses—the “guests” filtered onstage, exchanged hugs, and empathic looks and took their seats. The house lights were still up at … » Read

New York City Handel fans likely celebrated when they learned Israel in Egypt and L’Allegro, Il Penersoso ed il Moderato would be performed on consecutive October evenings. Beyond Messiah, local audiences don’t often get to hear the … » Read

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Jeanine Tesori is no stranger to the Washington National Opera (WNO), having brought two earlier operas— Blue and The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me— here in just the last 12 months. Her new opera Grounded , in … » Read

LYON, France—A stark thought occurred during the opening performance of Die Frau ohne Schatten (‘The woman without a shadow’) at the Opéra de Lyon in France. Is there another title in the repertory that makes such extreme … » Read

Far from the Bronx, where hip-hop was born a half-century ago, the French-Algerian choreographer Mourad Merzouki [pictured] keeps collaboration—the essential spirit of hip-hop—alive. Originally created by turntable musicians, dancers … » Read

LOS ANGELES—New to this company’s stage (by way of Lyric Opera of Chicago), Rossini’s The Barber Of Seville has arrived at just the right time. With turmoil in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, and the U.S. House of Representatives, we … » Read

Absent since 2015, Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera returned to the Metropolitan Opera Friday night in an uneven revival that could have done with a few more rehearsals. The orchestra and especially the chorus had trouble keeping together under … » Read

After 47 years and thousands of concerts worldwide, playing nearly 300 compositions and recording most of them, the Emerson String Quartet has called it quits. Actually, they called it quits twice. Most immediately with the second of two … » Read

It was a long time in coming, but Georgian-French pianist Khatia Buniatishvili finally performed a solo recital in Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall last Thursday evening (Oct. 19), having previously made her official Carnegie debut in Weill … » Read

On Oct. 19, Michael Tilson Thomas, music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, led a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was, notes Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle , “all too likely to be his final … » Read