On Monday, the Metropolitan Opera used its power, its people, and its international profile to pay tribute to and raise funds for Ukraine as it resists the Russian invasion. Before a sold-out (within hours, apparently) house of 3,200 and an … » Read

LOS ANGELES – Though the inexhaustibly gifted Johann Sebastian Bach never wrote an opera, his mighty St. Matthew Passion comes close enough to tempt an opera company to try it on for size. So LA Opera rolled the dice Saturday night (Mar. … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO--The evening opened with a dream and ended with fireworks. With Stravinsky as the main attraction, the San Francisco Symphony spun out a spectrum of gratifying musical amplitude on March 11 at Davies Hall. If the large and … » Read

New York City Ballet principal Tiler Peck curated a medley of dances, featuring her own chops and tastes, at New York City Center (March 4-6). During the final performance, the distinctive smell of marijuana wafted through the sold-out house. … » Read

Putting on Handel in a house as big as the Metropolitan Opera is daunting. For musicians, there’s the challenge of projecting the intimate sound world of the baroque to the last row of a 4,000-seat auditorium. For directors, it’s the … » Read

LONDON--When Sheku Kanneh-Mason made his recording debut in 2018, the young British cellist chose to do it with Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, suggesting an intriguing identification with the Soviet composer’s lyrical blend of … » Read

LONDON--Only a handful of living pianists could sell out London’s Festival Hall on a wet Tuesday night, but Maurizio Pollini is certainly one of them. His March 1, 80th birthday recital was not just an opportunity to witness the wisdom and … » Read

The Metropolitan Opera’s return from its February break almost feels like the start of a new season. Its new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos , introduced on Monday , was followed the next day (March 1) by the welcome return of the … » Read

Some opera directors try to lend old works new relevance by staging them in a contemporary setting. David McVicar’s bleakly faithful new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos , which opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, took no such … » Read

MILAN--On the evening of February 24, Valery Gergiev conducted the highly successful opening night of a new Pique Dame at La Scala. At dawn the next day, Vladimir Putin launched a ruthless invasion of Ukraine. Gergiev has subsequently refused to … » Read