LONDON—Michael Grandage’s 2010 staging of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd made a welcome return to Glyndebourne June 28 with a consistently fine cast and Allan Clayton making an anticipated role debut as the conflicted Captain … » Read

Sir Stephen Hough, the acclaimed British concert pianist, composer, and writer, has been appointed artistic director and jury chair for the 2027 Leeds International Piano Competition. Calling the 2027 competition a “defining moment,” … » Read

The triennial Mahler Conducting Competition concluded on July 3 with no first-prize winner, one second-prize, and two third prizes. Those went to Sieva Borzak (29, Italy) and Simon Clausse (25, France), while Jakub Przybycien (31, Poland) took … » Read

The Palais Garnier, home to the Paris Opera, has been forced to extend its shutdown for renovations, initially planned from 2027 to 2029, by three years to 2032. The cause—the longer time necessary to eliminate lead contamination in the … » Read

As discussed in Part I , the newly christened Highmark Mann Center boasts of renewal, but also displays its lineage with pride. Staff is young, enthusiastic, and clearly committed; there’s a palpable sense of belonging, everywhere: A chance … » Read

CHICAGO—The Grant Park Music Festival is used to rolling with the punches. On June 24, a severe downpour and flood warning forced the free outdoor series to cut a concert short just before its marquee offering: Peter Boyer’s Ellis … » Read

Sara Aldana has been selected as the new assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra for a one-year term that begins on Sept. 1, 2026. She succeeds Naomi Woo, who has served in the position since 2024 and will appear as a guest conductor … » Read

The LA Phil has named Ben Ullery as its new Principal Viola; he succeeds Teng Li, who held the position for six years before she joined the Chicago Symphony in June 2024 . Ullery has enjoyed a steady progression through the orchestra’s … » Read

MUNICH—Wagner operas are not usually occasions for merriment. They are more often received in rapt concentration, as if sitting in church and staying silent until the end of sermon. That was not the case at the Bayerische Staatsoper on June … » Read

American mezzo-soprano Mignon Dunn died on June 28 in Colorado Springs, CO, at age 98. Born in 1928 in Memphis and raised on a cotton plantation in northeastern Arkansas, she grew up listening to the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday matinee … » Read