For anyone whose favorite instrument is the cello, Davies Symphony Hall was the place to be on November 16. The occasion was the world premiere of Gaïa , Greek for Goddess of the Earth, a program of 16 short pieces for solo cello and … » Read

PARIS—Behold the tale of a journey thwarted. The chief draw to this new staging of La Damnation de Faust at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (TCE), Paris, was the prospect of hearing Benjamin Bernheim sing a title … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—Presented back to back, San Francisco Opera’s November 14 world premiere of The Monkey King , the new opera by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang, and its first Parsifal in 25 years, which closed November 13,  revealed … » Read

The world’s orchestras have in recent eras become increasingly internationalized: It would be hard to argue that the New York Philharmonic, say, produces a discernibly “American” sound, or that the Philharmonia Orchestra … » Read

LONDON—Since its formation in 2016, Manchester Collective has won plaudits for its combination of imaginative programming and dynamic performances, often reaching out beyond the concert hall to warehouses, nightclubs, and festivals. The … » Read

LONDON–We have Covid to thank for Mark-Anthony Turnage’s new opera, a two-act piece inspired by Edith Nesbit’s novel The Railway Children . Locked down in 2020 with his partner Rachael Hewer, who is rather conveniently a … » Read

CHICAGO—It’s a quiet, brisk Sunday at the University of Chicago, most students having retreated to libraries or their dorms to study. Autumn leaves, shivering on their branches or skittering across the ground, are the main source of … » Read

LONDON—Katie Mitchell is known for her frequently revelatory radical Feminist revisions of the operatic canon, but in the case of Janácek’s The Makropulos Case she has staged an all-out intervention. Last week, the British … » Read

LONDON —Dead Man Walking is never a comfortable evening in the theatre—nor should it be. Jake Heggie’s opera, premiered in San Francisco in 2000, asks difficult questions and refuses easy answers. But in doing so, it achieves … » Read

CHICAGO—Just as cellist Paul Wiancko sat down to play at Guarneri Hall, he locked eyes with an audience member in the front row, proudly wearing a Kronos T-shirt. “Mike, man,” he sighed, in mock exasperation, “wrong … » Read