Offerings at the Salzburg Festival are so wide ranging that a uniform theme is often impossible to discern, but this summer its seems to be classical mythology. And what better diversion from the travails of Medea and Oedipus than an Offenbach … » Read

The Pittsburgh Opera has been on a roll. Attendance grew by 13 percent during the past season, bringing total participation up to 67,500. Dr. Donald Fischer, newly elected to a three-year term as chairman of the board, is eager to build on the … » Read

Simon Rattle kicks off his third season as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra in a blaze of contemporary British music. The opening concert, on Sept. 14, starts with the world premiere of Antisphere by Emily Howard, commissioned for … » Read

Arts Council England published its annual report yesterday [Aug. 22], painting as positive a picture as possible in uncertain times. But hidden on page 63 is a stark warning: “A reduction in our Grant-in-Aid income from 2020 would result in … » Read

The Baltimore Symphony musicians yesterday said they would not go back to work in September without a new contract, despite management’s indication earlier in the summer that the lockout would end as of Sept. 9 . In a statement, they … » Read

SALZBURG--The Grosses Festpielhaus was the venue for Simon Stone’s new production of Cherubini’s Médée ( Medea ), a less successful exercise in updating (seen on August 16) than the previous evening’s Simon … » Read

It might take more than practice, practice, practice to get to Carnegie Hall. A new study concludes that natural talent plays a bigger role in differentiating between good and excellent violinists. The study sought to reassess a similar 1993 … » Read

Representatives from 52 major orchestras have gathered in Park City, Utah, for the three-day annual meeting of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM). They have a lot on their menu. Foremost, perhaps, is the need to … » Read

Abigail Rollins is to be the executive director of the Berkshire (MA) Opera Festival as of September 3. She succeeds Claudia d’Alessandro, serving as interim; previously, cofounders Artistic Director Brian Garman and Director of Production … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles Opera said Tuesday it had hired Debra Wong Yang from the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to lead a “thorough and independent investigation” of the charges against its general director, opera … » Read