LONDON—Apart from the ever-ubiquitous Messiah , enthusiasm for Handel oratorios seems to have paled next to the passion for restaging his operas. It’s a far cry from the 1740s when the English biblical choral blockbuster replaced … » Read

The Salzburg Festival’s old hostility toward Puccini, long moribund, has been laid to rest. Its last major proponent was Gerard Mortier, whose final year at the festival’s helm was 2001. “Puccini is vulgar and … » Read

SALZBURG—The operas staged at this year’s festival were an unusual mix for the 102-year-old event. There was only one Mozart offering, Die Zauberflöte , which was also the only pre-1800 opera. The closest thing to a recent one … » Read

INNSBRUCK, Austria—Operas of clemency have a reputation for lame drama. Feats of magnanimity, besides being implausible, tend to strike modern audiences as propaganda for reinforcing the status quo. But the other side of the coin is that … » Read

Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary Music (Aug. 4-8) included a silent film night, John Williams’s idea, in the Linde Center. Five TMC composer fellows had been assigned to score about 20 percent each of Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 … » Read

PORTLAND, OR--Portland’s newest opera company, OrpheusPDX, began its inaugural season on August 4 with Monteverde’s L’Orfeo, a new production by Chas Rader-Shieber deftly tempered with a bit of humor, adding a refreshing breeze … » Read

The role of Salome is a familiar one for Swedish soprano Malin Byström, whose Aug. 14 performance in concert at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall won rapturous praise from Mark Brown, theater critic for The Daily Telegraph . Byström had … » Read

GLYNDEBOURNE—The 2022 crop of English country house operas has been exceptionally good, yet Glyndebourne has saved the best until last. Music Director Robin Ticciati has teamed up with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and director Laurent … » Read

LENOX, Mass. – “Find something in the music that you can shake hands with,” said John Harbison, longtime Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) faculty member, referring to a specific theme or motif. “When it comes around again, … » Read

Done for the summer, Gustavo Dudamel has handed the podium at the Hollywood Bowl off to a parade of guest conductors. First up was the Finnish maestra Dalia Stasevska, who had originally been slated to debut during the 2020 season erased by the … » Read