Tracing the length and breadth of noteworthy changes in music is an assignment for only the most discerning of writers. Stuart Isacoff--pianist/ musicologist/cultural archeologist—proves well up to the task in his remarkable collection of … » Read

LONDON--It may not have the most profound of plots, but Alcina contains some of Handel's greatest music. For Glyndebourne’s first staging of the opera, which opened July 2, the company has assembled a cast of exceptional vocal beauty, … » Read

LONDON--Given the high quality and stylistic daring of much of the music in Saverio Mercadante’s Il Proscritto ( The Exile ), it seems remarkable that this June 28 concert performance at London’s Barbican Centre was the opera’s … » Read

LONDON--The UK’s opera grandees have invested a great deal of faith in Violet . After languishing for two years in Covid limbo, the debut opera by young English composer Tom Coult was unleashed on the UK this summer in a flurry of … » Read

Like its  new production of Don Giovanni , San Francisco Opera’s other offering this summer—before returning to the customary three in 2023—begins with striking images of a once-great estate that has collapsed. The world … » Read

CHICAGO—In June 2011 Riccardo Muti closed his first season as Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director with a riveting concert version of Verdi’s Otello . I still remember cowering in my seat during the opening storm scene, fearful … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—The flames are already flickering as the overture begins in the new production of Don Giovanni directed by Michael Cavanagh at San Francisco Opera. Set and projection designer Erhard Rom’s accompanying visuals establish … » Read

LONDON--Ten years have passed since the current boss of Garsington Opera took over and transformed it from a middling country house festival into a plausible pretender to the Glyndebourne throne. During his tenure, the charismatic Scottish … » Read

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave this year’s edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition a distinctively political dimension. After organizers agreed to welcome the 15 (out of 72) Russian-born contenders to the U.S for … » Read

Edvard Grieg’s widely popular Peer Gynt is most often performed in one of the composer’s two orchestral suites (written in 1888 and 1893), derived from the incidental music he wrote for Heinrik Ibsen’s 1876 play of the same … » Read