PORTLAND, OR—Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher , based on the classic horror story by Edgar Allen Poe, received a fresh interpretation that successfully blurred the lines of repressed sexuality in a new production for … » Read

BAYREUTH—Richard Wagner created this festival and designed its festspielehaus, specifically for his Ring cycle. Always been run by the composer’s descendants (currently his great-granddaughter Katarina), the venerable event has … » Read

On Aug. 27 Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) conducted the penultimate concert of the summer season at Tanglewood with a performance one critic characterized as “another milestone in the institution’s rich history.” In March MTT had … » Read

If Salzburg Festival Artistic Director Markus Hinterhäuser was justified in calling the festival’s first-ever performances of Puccini’s Il Trittico “important,” it had little robust competition, as illustrated by the … » Read

New music for orchestra, chamber musicians, and voices this month includes a second volume reflecting the eclectic palette of the late Julius Eastman and an important environmental work from crack choir The Crossing. To start, though, John … » Read

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