On July 1 the Teatro Real in Madrid made news when it broke a coronavirus-imposed silence lasting three months with Verdi’s  La Traviata , the first of several performances of the opera that ran through the month. In the apparent … » Read

During the pandemic, the German government has decided to double down on its cultural spending, committing €2.1bn ($2.5bn) for the upcoming calendar year. The proposed expenditure, which includes an increase of €155mn ($185mn) over the … » Read

Since Germany has more opera houses per capita (80, to be precise) than the U.S. has Starbucks, a win at one of the country’s annual Oper! Awards is an important accomplishment, even—or perhaps especially--in the year of the pandemic. … » Read

At 27-years of age, big things are happening for Samuel Mariño. His debut recording has just been released on the Orfeo label, and he’s recently signed to HarrisonParrott, one of the few agencies to buck the trend in 2020. He’s … » Read

Life is sometimes what happens when you’re making other plans. For John Holiday, a 35-year-old countertenor from Texas, 2020 began with him singing the role of Orpheus’ Double in the world premiere of composer Matthew Aucoin’s … » Read

The Hong Kong Philharmonic has appointed a resident conductor, a practical move with Music Director Jaap van Zweden back home in the Netherlands and unable to travel or conduct his HK band without quarantining for two weeks on either end. The new … » Read

Remember when Daniel Harding announced he would step down from a highly successful international conducting career to become a  commercial airline pilot with Air France? That was in January 2020, before Covid-19 threw all plans to the winds. … » Read

British pianist Stephen Hough has a question for classical music concertgoers. “Who,” he asks in The Guardian , “decreed that a concert of orchestral music should last roughly two hours with a gap in the middle in order for us … » Read

The reason for Perryn Leech’s  resignation from the Houston Grand Opera after 14 years now comes clear: He is to be the next general director of the Canadian Opera Company, effective March 1. He succeeds Alexander Neef, now the general … » Read

This list will be updated weekly. Note all times are in U.S. Eastern Time (ET). To calculate in other time zones or counties, British Summer Time (BST) is currently five hours ahead of ET and Central European Time (CET) is currently six hours … » Read