Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly , one of opera’s undeniable treasures, has in recent years become a flashpoint for critics due to its stereotyped images of Japan and the male fantasies too readily assigned to Asian women. … » Read

After an 11-year absence, the Kimmel Center will again play host to international orchestras with a trio of concerts scheduled for December 2023 and March and May of 2024. “It’s thrilling,” enthused Philadelphia Orchestra and … » Read

In a survey conducted by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 76 percent of the more than 2,000 respondents expressed a greater willingness to attend concerts if the experience was transformed. This percentage represents a five-year high, with Huw … » Read

If ever there was any doubt that the new broom at Lincoln Center was reversing not only priorities but also the mission of the place, witness the scene last weekend in which the fountain on the Plaza disappeared and was replaced by a basketball … » Read

Jenny Wong is the San Francisco Symphony Chorus director as of the 2023-24 season, also the ensemble’s 50th. She is the fourth person to take the job, joining an impressive lineage: Louis Magor (1974–1982), Vance George … » Read

LONDON—It may be all change at the London Symphony Orchestra, but the programming is as original as ever. Simon Rattle, the outgoing music director, was a sterling champion of new, or modern music, and it appears that in associate artist … » Read

Met Chorus Master Donald Palumbo will step down at the end of the current season in June. He will have been in the job 17 years and is credited with creating one of the best, if not the best, choruses in the world—a rank confirmed at the … » Read

On Sept. 14, the Azrieli Foundation, Canada’s largest non-corporate foundation, announced the launch of the Azrieli Music, Arts, and Culture Center (AMACC). The new organization aims “to support the continuum of arts engagement for … » Read

In Tokyo, the president of the Goethe Institute and a representative of the Japan Art Association announced the recipients of the 2023 Praemium Imperiale Awards, considered by many to be the “Nobel Prize of the Arts.” Presented since … » Read

The effort to ban Anna Netrebko from the world’s premier opera stages after Russia invaded Ukraine has never been fail-safe; she has since appeared at the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, and Teatro alla Scala. Now the ban is showing … » Read