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Reviews
Dido's Ghost, a Spooky Sequel to Purcell's Original

SAN FRANCISCO—It’s all about Dido at the end of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas , the Carthaginian queen’s grief expressed in her death-scene lament that implores us to “Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate.” … »
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The Callas Box: An Expert Assessment. [Part II of II]

Following continues Peter Clark’s review of La Divina: Maria Callas in All Her Roles, a 135-disc collection of all of her commercial recordings and many of her live performances. Part I was posted yesterday. Verdi's La Traviata , one of her … »
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Reviews
The Callas Box: An Expert Assessment. [Part I of II]

I once heard Leonard Bernstein ask a woodwind player to play a solo passage as a singer would phrase it. “Did you ever hear Callas sing?,” he said. Bernstein knew whereof he spoke, having conducted the great Greek-American diva in her … »
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In the U.K.: Anthony McGill as 'One of America's Finest'

LONDON—A stone’s throw from the Barbican Centre, Milton Court is a home for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a place where the Barbican can present chamber works as part of its far-sighted Milton Court Artist-in-Residence … »
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Schenk's Tannhäuser Returns to the Met, Amid Chaos

In a season where the Metropolitan Opera is devoting inordinate attention to “new” operas, prominent composers from the bread-and-butter years before World War II—Puccini being the main exception—tend to be represented by … »
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Opera di Roma's Very White Mefistofele Is Very Dark

MILAN—In recent years, Rome's Teatro dell'Opera has established itself as an artistically adventurous alternative to La Scala, its more traditional competitor in Milan. Having hosted the debut stagings of artist Ai Weiwei ( Turandot , 2022 … »
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Low-profile Instrument Moves to Solo Status

The San Francisco Symphony’s Nov. 24 premiere of Odisea ( Odyssey ), a new concerto for the cuatro by Venezuelan composer Gonzalo Grau, proved to be a special occasion for the San Francisco Chronicle’s chief classical music critic. It … »
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New Simon Boccanegra Signals Japan's Return to the International Opera Scene

TOKYO—Right from its opening in 1997, the New National Theatre, Tokyo has specialized in lavish international productions—Franco Zeffirelli’s Aida and Wolfgang Wagner’s Lohengrin set the tone in its inaugural … »
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Film Crit Misses Music in Maestro

Bradley Cooper’s Maestro , a high-wire act of a biopic, leaps constantly between on stage and off, flying through Leonard Bernstein’s very public life as a conductor while diving into his more private marriage to Felicia Montealegre. … »
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Three Operas, Three Premiere Recordings

Given their prohibitive costs, it’s a miracle opera pops up on disc as often as it does. This trio of new releases proves that not only is there life in the old dog yet, there’s more to be rediscovered by those prepared to dig. The … »
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