MANCHESTER--The Hallé’s long and distinguished relationship with Ralph Vaughan Williams and his music dates back to 1944 and the first commercial recording of the Fifth Symphony, conducted by its visionary chief, Sir John … » Read

Sunday afternoon offered an opportunity to hear ten of the country's finest young voices compete for generous prize monies at the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Grand Finals Concert. Chosen from more than 1,100 applicants, 800 of them … » Read

NEW YORK (AP) — When Broadway’s revival of Funny Girl begins, star Beanie Feldstein sits in a Broadway dressing room, getting ready to go on. She wonders nervously to her assistant: “You ever feel like there’s someone … » Read

The Aix Easter Festival didn’t need to build its pedigree; it had one from the word go, thanks to a little black book in the back pocket of its artistic director, Renaud Capuçon. Not only does the violin virtuoso know everyone … » Read

With major roles in the U.S. and Australia, Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang is in demand. Now in her sixth season as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, she has long-term relationships with both the New York Philharmonic … » Read

LOS ANGELES – The ever-inventive Los Angeles Philharmonic is full of novel ideas this spring, the latest being a festival that goes by the name, “Gen X: Voices of a Generation.” Or so they say. According to a short introductory … » Read

Last year, Boston Baroque announced a five-program, digital-only season for 2021-2022, a bold decision buoyed by its experience of streaming during the pandemic, which saw it picking up viewers and subscribers across five continents. In … » Read

On April 23rd, the Metropolitan Opera staged a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor , the Donizetti masterpiece (one of them). Marilyn Horne, the great mezzo-soprano, once complained that reviewers spent most of their reviews on productions, not … » Read

Replacements, in these fragile times, are a fact of festival life. Artistic directors need a Plan B in case illness strikes—and so it was this month in Aix-en-Provence, France. The Easter Festival 2022, April 8-24, welcomed back a live … » Read

LONDON—With its mixture of medieval history and fairytale magic, Lohengrin inhabits that awkward territory between the fabled pageantry of Wagner’s early works and the philosophic mysticism of Tristan und Isolde . Musically there is … » Read