The Palais Garnier, home to the Paris Opera, has been forced to extend its shutdown for renovations, initially planned from 2027 to 2029, by three years to 2032. The cause—the longer time necessary to eliminate lead contamination in the … » Read

As discussed in Part I , the newly christened Highmark Mann Center boasts of renewal, but also displays its lineage with pride. Staff is young, enthusiastic, and clearly committed; there’s a palpable sense of belonging, everywhere: A chance … » Read

CHICAGO—The Grant Park Music Festival is used to rolling with the punches. On June 24, a severe downpour and flood warning forced the free outdoor series to cut a concert short just before its marquee offering: Peter Boyer’s Ellis … » Read

Sara Aldana has been selected as the new assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra for a one-year term that begins on Sept. 1, 2026. She succeeds Naomi Woo, who has served in the position since 2024 and will appear as a guest conductor … » Read

The LA Phil has named Ben Ullery as its new Principal Viola; he succeeds Teng Li, who held the position for six years before she joined the Chicago Symphony in June 2024 . Ullery has enjoyed a steady progression through the orchestra’s … » Read

MUNICH—Wagner operas are not usually occasions for merriment. They are more often received in rapt concentration, as if sitting in church and staying silent until the end of sermon. That was not the case at the Bayerische Staatsoper on June … » Read

American mezzo-soprano Mignon Dunn died on June 28 in Colorado Springs, CO, at age 98. Born in 1928 in Memphis and raised on a cotton plantation in northeastern Arkansas, she grew up listening to the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday matinee … » Read

Alex Ross, arguably the most influential music critic of his generation, is leaving his beat. Staff writer and critic at the New Yorker since 1996, he has posted notice on his blog, The Rest Is Noise . “For thirty years, I’ve had the … » Read

The offstage manner of the Estel Vivó Casanovas is modest and calm, but with an instrument in her hands, the 24-year-old Spanish saxophonist becomes a warrior. You can see it in the video of her winning performance at the 2025 Young … » Read

Andrea Zietzschmann, general manager of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2017, will not renew her contract with the orchestra when it expires in August 2028. Saying it was time “to embark on a new path,” she cited the recently announced … » Read