In a season where the Metropolitan Opera is devoting inordinate attention to “new” operas, prominent composers from the bread-and-butter years before World War II—Puccini being the main exception—tend to be represented by … » Read

This year’s holiday season in Philadelphia is awash with news about Pops, both on and off stage. On Dec. 1 A Very Philly Christmas , featuring the No Name Pops, opened a nine-concert run (through Dec. 23) in Verizon Hall. The recently … » Read

In 1973 the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to visit the People’s Republic of China. While a tour by the Philadelphians to celebrate the 50 th anniversary last May had to be cancelled due to the country’s … » Read

In 2015, the British composer and conductor Leo Geyer was commissioned to write a piece honoring the historian and Holocaust expert Martin Gilbert [pictured]. While visiting the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau to get a “sense of the … » Read

Outhere Music is acquiring Delos, the 50-year-old California-based recording label founded by Amelia Haygood and led for many years by pianist Carol Rosenberger, the first artist Haygood recorded. Delos, a pioneer in digital recording, has … » Read

As previously reported , then disputed , and official as of today, Valery Gergiev is the new general director of the Bolshoi Theater, marking the first time in Russia’s history that the head of the Mariinsky Theater has been run by the same … » Read

The Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere of Wagner’s Tannhäuser was disrupted last night (Nov 30) when a number of environmental protesters (identified as Extinction Rebellion NYC) began yelling remarks from the upper regions of … » Read

MILAN—In recent years, Rome's Teatro dell'Opera has established itself as an artistically adventurous alternative to La Scala, its more traditional competitor in Milan. Having hosted the debut stagings of artist Ai Weiwei ( Turandot , 2022 … » Read

LONDON—Making your La Scala debut and opening the show at the same time must be about as nerve-wracking as it gets, but on the first night of Robert Carsen’s new Peter Grimes , William Thomas took it in his stride. Not only did he … » Read

Long Beach Opera, an ambitious and occasionally audacious opera company with an annual operating budget of about $2 million, has received $1.25M from the estate of late (d. 2021) board member Carol Richards, the largest single gift in the … » Read