That Blacks are barely visible in the world of opera is hardly news. The nation’s largest opera company—the Metropolitan Opera—exemplifies their absence. There is only one Black on the Met’s 10-person music staff and only … » Read

As Payroll Protection Plan funds run out, so do the furloughs roll out across the U.S. New York’s arts institutions seem to be of particular interest to out-of-town media outlets. As previously announced , Carnegie Hall this week furloughed … » Read

About 18 months ago, Tom Huang, assistant managing editor for Journalism Initiatives at the Dallas Morning News (DMN) , had to lay off several arts writers and editors due to budget cuts. Then, last summer, Tim Diovanni arrived at the paper for … » Read

The ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic have claimed the fall season of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO). “Our current goal for returning to the stage is now January 2021,” NJSO President & CEO Gabriel van Aalst announced in … » Read

Uzbek conductor Aziz Shokhakimov is to be the new music and artistic director of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. The 32-year-old onetime Mahler Competition winner succeeds Marko Letonja as of fall 2021. Letonja leaves after nine years in … » Read

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has cancelled its Walt Disney Concert Hall fall season, simultaneously announcing a host of online and broadcast initiatives in an attempt to make up the difference. Following State and City guidelines, the … » Read

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has joined the list of U.S. orchestras and opera companies cancelling their fall seasons; in the CSO’s case, that also applies to series such as Symphony Center Presents, MusicNow, the Civic Orchestra of … » Read

PARIS--Having declared in June that the pandemic had left the Opéra de Paris “on its knees,” General Director Stéphane Lissner yesterday emphasized the point in testimony before the committee in charge of culture at the … » Read

The Detroit Symphony has announced the retirements of five of its musicians next month, including its principal bassoon. Robert Williams has been in the job since 1974 and previously served in the same post with the major orchestras of Winnipeg, … » Read

The deadline to apply for Opera America’s IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) grants is fast approaching. Composer/librettists who identify as African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and/or Native American (ALAANA) and who can demonstrate … » Read