The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 inspired Keri-Lynn Wilson, the Canadian-Ukrainian conductor, and her husband, Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb, to set about creating the well-publicized Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. … » Read

John Mangum, executive director and CEO of the Houston Symphony since 2018, is to be the new general director, president & CEO of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, effective in the fall. He succeeds Anthony Freud, who announced last September that … » Read

Soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera for its gala on Feb. 3 in what would be her first U.S. appearance in six years. Considered the world’s top soprano, Netrebko was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera … » Read

BAYREUTH—The annual Wagner festival could have used a hit this summer. In its first two post-lockdown seasons, in 2022, the festival struck out with a Ring cycle that reduced Wagner’s epic to a Netflix-style dysfunctional family drama … » Read

CHICAGO—Maybe it was the aftereffect of spending Friday afternoon in front of TV watching the Olympic Games opening ceremonies with all those spectacular overhead shots of Paris. Maybe it was seeing those boatloads of athletes representing … » Read

William Gibbons will become the new dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) as of August 1. He succeeds Mary Simoni, professor of performing arts technology, dean since 2011 and … » Read

Not since Joseph Stalin’s reign has the Russian government instituted such draconian controls on the nation’s artists and cultural establishment. For many the only answer has been to leave; those who stay must strike a nationalist … » Read

CHICAGO—Ah, the Grant Park Music Festival. These days, its name is something of a misnomer: Its orchestra and chorus have performed at Millennium Park, north of Grant Park, since that downtown attraction opened to the public 20 years ago … » Read

Erin Freeman is to succeed Amy Kaiser as director of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, a largely volunteer, auditioned ensemble. Kaiser, a native New Yorker, retired in 2021-22 after nearly 30 years in the job and remains active in the musical life … » Read

The San Antonio Philharmonic (SAP), set to launch its third season this fall with new music director Jeffrey Kahane , is facing a nasty public fight over board leadership. Precisely who constitutes the board appears to be at the center of the … » Read