On Aug. 8, Mathias Lutzweiler, CEO of Naxos Music Group, released a statement: “We would like to clarify that no collaboration exists between KUKE Music and Naxos Music Group in relation to this platform nor has any agreement or arrangement … » Read

SANTA FE—Two of this summer’s productions posed unusual staging challenges for Santa Fe Opera’s indoor-outdoor theater: The Turn of the Screw , in a rare return after more than four decades, and Die Walküre , which marks … » Read

A case of the summer flu caused tenor Piotr Beczala to withdraw from the concluding performance of Lohengrin at Bayreuth on Aug. 9 as well as his appearance in Carmen at Verona five days later. Klaus Florian Vogt filled the title role at … » Read

As promised when it moved four of the country’s most influential performing arts critics off their beats , the New York Times is “conducting a search for their replacements.” Herewith the advertisement for the classical music … » Read

HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Minnie “Gracie” Gadson claps her hands and stomps her feet against the floorboards, lifting her voice in a song passed down from her enslaved ancestors who were forced to work the cotton and rice … » Read

SANTA FE—The plot of The Marriage of Figaro can feel like a dizzying maze of deceptions and deferred revelations—its intricate turns threatening to overwhelm the human stakes. But in Santa Fe Opera’s ingeniously paced staging, … » Read

The Portland (OR) Opera has promoted composer/conductor/bass-baritone Damien Geter from artistic advisor and interim music director to music director. The Chicago-based Geter is composer-in-residence at the Richmond Symphony; his most recent … » Read

For many professional musicians, the unrelenting pressure to perform perfectly, in combination with the need to advance their careers by networking, can easily lead to alcohol addiction. In a series of conversations, music educator and conductor … » Read

The plot of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s David and Jonathan is standard opera fare—two young people fall in love and face tragic interference by one lover’s father. The West Edge Opera festival’s new staging, however, adds a … » Read

At the moment the drama underway at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples is political, not musical (though it is certainly operatic). At issue is the leadership of the storied company. Stephane Lissner, who had been the general director of the Paris … » Read