BRUSSELS—Medusa sulks among stone bodies of men. Around her, the world has hardened into a mausoleum: gray walls, dead air, her lamenting gorgon sisters, and fate approaching in the form of Perseus. This is the bleak territory of Iain Bell … » Read

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) 2026-2027 season pairs two Chicago premieres with expanded investment in new work and arts education. The Importance of Being Earnest, composed by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and drawn from Oscar Wilde’s iconic … » Read

Gabriela Lena Frank is on a roll. On May 5, Musical America’s Composer of the Year for 2026 was awarded the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Music for Picaflor: A future myth ,” a work inspired by Andean mythology, climate activism, and … » Read

James Bagwell, director of the music program at Bard College, has been appointed principal conductor at the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and the Berkshire Bach Society, where he will also be director of choral music. The new jobs are additional to … » Read

Racked by unrelenting pain, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo wrote in her diary shortly before she died: “I joyfully await the exit — and hope never to return.” Yet return she does — if only briefly — on the Day of the … » Read

The Santa Fe Opera, whose 2026 season runs July 3-August 29, has already laid the groundwork for 2027, which will run July 2 through August 28 and mark its 70 th anniversary. Boasting 38 performances, an American premiere, two new productions, a … » Read

Although Gustavo Dudamel does not officially start until September, he is already signaling that change is afoot at the New York Philharmonic. On an early May afternoon, the orchestra gathered for its first rehearsal with the Spanish Harlem … » Read

Lithuanian conductor Giedre Šlekyte is to be the next music director of The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) as of 2027-28. She succeeds Thomas Søndergård, in the position since 2018; he becomes emeritus while she … » Read

After almost four years of turmoil following Arts Council England’s 2022 diktat that English National Opera (ENO) decamp from London for parts then unknown, ENO is about to present its first production created specifically for its new … » Read

Philadelphia Ballet Music Director Beatrice Jona Affron is to become associate music director of the New York City Ballet as of Aug. 1, working with Music Director Andrew Litton and succeeding Andrews Sill, who is retiring. Affron has been with … » Read