NEW YORK—Having recorded all the Bach cantatas and a staggering amount of his other music besides, the venerable Bach Collegium Japan and its director, Masaaki Suzuki, have moved ahead chronologically for repertoire, achieving notable … » Read

BERLIN—The 1983 Broadway premiere of La Cage aux Folles took New York by storm. Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's drag musical, based on Jean Poiret’s 1973 play, became the first mainstream hit show dealing with gay themes and … » Read

CHICAGO— Let’s get one thing straight: Chicago classical music needs more projects like The Factotum . It bordered on surreal to see the city’s predominantly Black South Side depicted onstage Feb. 3 by the Lyric Opera of … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—On an afternoon when the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) welcomed back Herbert Blomstedt, their esteemed former music director who led the ensemble from 1985-95, the musicians had a pre-performance message to deliver. As … » Read

LONDON—When Edward Gardner became principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra there was always a chance he’d import some of the repertoire that helped make his name during his time at the helm of ENO. And La Damnation de … » Read

PHILADELPHIA--William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony had a rewarding trip back to the Philadelphia Orchestra after its successful 1934 premiere under Leopold Stokowski, and it was surrounded by unusually sympathetic company. Call it … » Read

LOS ANGELES — Even though the LA Opera is halfway through the 2022-23 season, its new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro felt like a homecoming. All thoughts of attendance refusing to rebound in the wake of the … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO— Everest – An immersive Experience is the latest but not last iteration of an opera that began life at the Dallas Opera in January of 2015, where it was enthusiastically received. There were further performances in … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—Patrons encounter them on their way to Davies Symphony Hall as they do almost anywhere in San Francisco. The homeless are everywhere in the city, sleeping in doorways, wheeling their possessions about in shopping carts, holed … » Read

MILAN—Opera companies have been updating Verdi's I vespri siciliani almost since its conception. Set to the backdrop of the French occupation of 13th-century Sicily, the work premiered in French at the Paris Opera in 1885. It was translated … » Read