“Citizens: Listen! Look!” With that arresting command, declaimed from the stage of Davies Symphony Hall by actress Breezy Leigh, a June 11 San Francisco Symphony program devoted to Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex and Symphony of Psalms … » Read

MILAN--While Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda was an instant hit when it premiered at La Scala in 1876, the opera is rarely performed today. Casting its six big leading roles is no easy task, and barely credible elements of the story, not … » Read

LONDON--Garsington Opera launched its six-week summer season with two key repertory operas in productions touched with greatness. The restaging of John Cox’s 2004 Cos ì fan tutte , a modern classic first seen in San Francisco as well … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO--In his new Piano Concerto, Mason Bates doesn’t employ any of the electronica or DJ stylings that earmark a number of the composer’s other works. But when the piece received its first West Coast performances June 2-5, it … » Read

LONDON--Anyone wondering how Sir Antonio Pappano’s tenure as chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra—beginning September 2024—might differ from that of current incumbent Sir Simon Rattle should consider this dazzling … » Read

HOLLYWOOD – Once upon a time, the programs at Hollywood Bowl were called “Symphonies Under the Stars.” These days, symphonies are still performed under the stars at the 100-year-old, 17,500-seat amphitheater, but they no … » Read

LONDON -- Nestling in the heart of the Cotswolds, Longborough Festival Opera was the brainchild of Martin and Lizzie Graham. In 1996, they reconstructed a barn on their Moreton-in-Marsh property to create an intimate 500-seat theater. The … » Read

After a canceled 2020 season and a substantially reduced program in 2021, the Spoleto Festival has returned this year with a full performance schedule and a new general director. Mena Mark Hanna, the 37-year-old son of Egyptian immigrants, has … » Read

LONDON--The Royal Opera’s artistic leaders, Oliver Mears and Antonio Pappano, have trumpeted the most celebrated opera of Saint-Saëns as “an unabashed spectacle that luxuriates in melodic invention and lush orchestration.” … » Read

One dancer drops her weight into a deep squat before ricocheting back to standing. Another sweeps his right leg and arm toward each other, bending the limbs easily at the joints once his knee and elbow make contact. Two more walk from upstage to … » Read