In unveiling its 2025-26 season, the first developed under Chad Smith’s regime as president and CEO, the Boston Symphony Orchestra makes much of overriding themes that have guided its programming decisions. The megatheme “E Pluribus … » Read

CHICAGO—Contemporary opera’s golden duo has done it again. Teammates since 2012’s Song from the Uproar , composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek have created their most ambitious work yet with The Listeners , based on … » Read

In February Donald Trump moved with impressive speed to seize control of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, firing trustees appointed by his predecessor and filling their slots with loyalists who quickly anointed him chairman. Gone were … » Read

NEW YORK—A recent five-day jaunt to hear opera in Berlin, Dresden, and Amsterdam showed Wall Street Journal critic Heidi Waleson that there was very little that was “cautious or old-fashioned on view.” Berlin is home to three … » Read

Players from more than 20 orchestras in the U.K. have signed an open letter to the government urging reform of copyright laws to guarantee that streaming royalties are paid to all performers, including non-featured orchestral players. Currently, … » Read

LONDON—In these straitened times, every first night at the Wales Millennium Centre is a cause for muted celebration. “We’re still here,” Welsh National Opera seems to chorus, from its virtuosic pit musicians who long ago … » Read

DETROIT—The lively but radical new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte , seen at its April 5 premiere at the Detroit Opera House, presupposes that the opera is inherently misogynistic. From a surface reading of Lorenzo da … » Read

Michael Davidman has bested four other finalists to win first prize at the 2025 American Piano Awards in Indianapolis. Valued at $200,000, the award includes a $25,000 cash prize, a recording contract with Steinway & Sons, an artist residency … » Read

Kolstein Music of Baldwin, Long Island, NY, and owner Manny Alvarez are currently overwhelmed by a blizzard of lawsuits claiming that the proceeds from instruments sold on consignment have not been passed on to the owners. The agreement by which … » Read

The current drama behind the scenes at Opera Carolina is upstaging anything in the way of programming for the public. Artistic leadership has undergone a shakeup, and the recently dismissed, longtime production director is suing the … » Read