LONDON--The August 12 BBC Prom concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall was much anticipated for Vladimir Jurowski taking his farewell of the orchestra he has helmed as principal conductor for 14 remarkable years. Under his tenure, the London … » Read

LENOX, Mass--Last Sunday’s terrific Boston Symphony Orchestra concert had multiple connections to the Year 2014: The program in the Koussevitzky Music Shed opened with Sinfonia ( for Orbiting Spheres ), composed in that year by Missy … » Read

LONDON—Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla has taken the U.K. by storm. The Lithuanian conductor first guested with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2015 and was appointed as its music director in 2016 , a post she will have held until she … » Read

LONDON--Here in the U.K., July 19 was christened “Freedom Day,” as final COVID restrictions were lifted following months of lockdown, including another delay caused by the alarming spread of the Delta variant. Two days later, and a … » Read

Loony or lascivious? That is the dilemma, argues critic Joshua Kosman, posed by the Venetian composer Francesco Cavalli’s 1667 opera Eliogabalo . Presented by the West Edge Opera at the outdoor Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda, CA, through Aug. … » Read

For months now, intrepid presenters of opera have dared to break the silence imposed by the coronavirus—always cautiously and sometimes to houses purposely empty—by offering live performances. Only this week, however, did full-scale … » Read

VERBIER, Switzerland—Still convalescing after the lost summer of 2020, the Swiss festival’s ambitious recovery festival has been hampered by travel-thwarted cancellations and Covid-related withdrawals. Most critical among the latter … » Read

LENOX, MA--No nation has contributed more to film art and its industry than America, and no one has composed more hit film scores than John Williams. The elegant 89-year-old Boston Pops conductor laureate returned last week to Tanglewood, summer … » Read

SANTA FE--The new production of  The Marriage of Figaro , seen on July 23, takes its cue from the polymathic talents of Pierre Augustin Beaumarchais, the French author of the opera’s literary source. In addition to writing plays, his … » Read

SANTA FE--Among the nation’s opera companies that are cautiously coming back, the Santa Fe Opera is the first major one to launch a season that looks pretty close to normal. In addition to the world premiere of John Corigliano and Marc … » Read