LONDON--Cognoscenti of Puccini’s less-performed operas have long recognized that Il Tabarro , the opening act of his 1920 trilogy Il Trittico , is one of his most enthralling and advanced scores.  When followed by the emotional … » Read

PORTLAND, OR--Based on an ancient love story, Dido Reimagined , a new monodrama by Pulitzer-prize-winning composer Melinda Wagner and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, received a thought-provoking performance from Dawn Upshaw and the Brentano … » Read

Caramoor’s summer festival for years held a place on the itinerary of opera goers, thanks to Will Crutchfield’s Bel Canto at Caramoor series. After 2017, when the latter, rebranded as Teatro Nuovo, ventured forth on its own, Caramoor … » Read

LONDON—Opera Holland Park has a reputation as an operatic lifesaver, resuscitating the neglected, and even at times resurrecting the dead. Its double bill of Delius’s scarcely heard of, let alone heard Margot la Rouge and … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—Charles Jennens’s Biblically based libretto for Handel’s 1745 oratorio Belshazzar stakes out its agenda in straightforward terms. Held captive in Babylon by the title character, the Judeans are freed by Cyrus the … » Read

SEATTLE—A gripping performance of the Verdi Requiem last month not only served as the Seattle Symphony’s (SSO) season finale but drew a double bar over a year marked by turbulent change. Thomas Dausgaard’s abrupt resignation as … » Read

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY—Operatic might-have-beens are a centerpiece of the Bard SummerScape’s annual season, the 2022 entry being Die Schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) in a brave production that makes an almost-best-possible case … » Read

AIX-EN-PROVENCE—There was a determination on the part of Artistic Director Pierre Audi and the city fathers of Aix to mount a full-on festival in 2022 after the difficulties of the last two years, and they more than delivered on their … » Read

Last weekend at Tanglewood saw “youth in ascendance,” writes Jeremy Eichler in The Boston Globe . Friday night’s star was Karina Canellakis, the young American conductor whose debut last year won rave reviews for “a … » Read

PORTLAND--As part of its “Inspirations & Influences” Summer Festival, Chamber Music Northwest presented composer Andy Akiho’s multimedia 2021 work Seven Pillars to a sold-out crowd at the Alberta Rose Theater, a converted … » Read