Some opera directors try to lend old works new relevance by staging them in a contemporary setting. David McVicar’s bleakly faithful new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos , which opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday, took no such … » Read

The brouhaha has settled down and the three concerts—or at least the two I attended—by the Vienna Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall February 25-27 went off as smoothly as anyone could have wanted. In the hours before the first downbeat, … » Read

The near universal condemnation of Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is forcing some of the world’s great musicians to choose sides when only one side seems morally defensible. Conductor Vasily Petrenko [pictured], artistic … » Read

Dear Friends, My return to performing these last months has been very special. The 20 concerts with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony were heartwarming. Making music with these great artists … » Read

MILAN--On the evening of February 24, Valery Gergiev conducted the highly successful opening night of a new Pique Dame at La Scala. At dawn the next day, Vladimir Putin launched a ruthless invasion of Ukraine. Gergiev has subsequently refused to … » Read

LONDON--Alarm bells rather than telephones rang when Barbara Hannigan declared in a video—on the London Symphony Orchestra website--that La Voix humaine (“The human voice”) “seems to be” the last conversation of a … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—In a charmingly entertaining evening devoted to Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus , the San Francisco Symphony under its Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen offered a buoyant performance of the 1801 ballet score, … » Read

Violinist Nicola Benedetti is to be the next director of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), becoming the first woman and the first Scot to lead the 75-year-old late summer celebration of music, theater, opera, and dance. “This is a … » Read

The 2022-23 season lineup for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, claims Chief Executive Chad Smith, is as noteworthy for what isn’t being announced as for what is. Planning for a typical season often begins four years in advance. … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO--To produce his hauntingly layered score for the chamber opera Sophia’s Forest , Lembit Beecher mingled a string quartet, percussion, and his own sound sculptures made of rotating wine glasses, a bicycle wheel, and other found … » Read