CHICAGO – Lidiya Yankovskaya’s rapid rise among U.S.-based conductors of her generation seems to be driven as much by her exceptional talent as her eagerness to take on ambitious, out-of-the-way artistic projects. One such undertaking … » Read

On Nov. 27 violinist Itzhak Perlman will join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO),  Music Director Manfred Honeck, and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in a concert to honor the Tree of Life Synagogue victims. A part of the … » Read

SEATTLE—Making its U.S. premiere at the center of Seattle Symphony’s most recent program, Pascal Dusapin’s At Swim-Two-Birds (heard on November 8) immediately stood out as one of the most significant commissions in music … » Read

CULVER CITY, CA – “For two hundred years, the Europeans have been sending us their operas,” wrote John Cage. “Now I’m sending them back.” A wag or two might have amended that to read, “sending them … » Read

Three years ago the Dallas Opera inaugurated the annual Hart Institute for Women Conductors to address the absence of women on opera house podiums. Participants receive two weeks of major-league coaching in conducting, rehearsal techniques, and … » Read

Ken-David Masur, son of the late, great maestro, is to be the next music director of the Milwaukee Symphony as of the 2019-20 season. He will serve as designate in the interim. The orchestra, coming up on 60 years old with a new hall set to open … » Read

The financial threats to opera, particularly in the U.S., are well-documented: declining attendance, a graying audience, and exploding costs afflict companies as different in scope and ambition as the Metropolitan Opera and the now defunct Gotham … » Read

Wu Man, pipa player extraordinaire and founding member of the Silk Road Ensemble, was named  Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America in 2013. Five years on, her Carnegie Hall mainstage appearance with the internationally acclaimed … » Read

NEW YORK—When a production has been out of the Metropolitan Opera’s repertory for nearly 20 years, it’s a good bet it may never be seen again. Yet last Thursday (Nov. 8) Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele , in Robert … » Read

The opera world’s erstwhile diva Renée Fleming is scheduled to make her London stage debut next summer in the Tony award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza . Calling it “an opportunity I couldn’t resist,” … » Read