Riccardo Muti is retiring Verdi’s “Requiem” from his repertoire. The famed conductor, who recently turned 85, conducted the work for the last time at the Salzburg Festival’s Großes Festspielhaus. The news was reported by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Muti led the Vienna Philharmonic in the piece on August 15 and 18 with a cast that included Iwona Sobotka, Marianne Crebassa, Michael {…}
Austin Opera today has appointed Cory Lippiello as its new Chief Producing Officer, a key executive leadership position responsible for overseeing the company’s Artistic and Production departments. Lippiello has more than 25 years of experience in artistic administration, casting, production, and strategic planning. Lippiello joins Austin Opera this fall following a stint with Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she served {…}
(Photo: Veronika Lercher) Prior to taking the stage for Antonio Caldara’s oratorio “Gioseffo,” Innsbruck favorite Arianna Vendittelli, alongside period ensemble Academia Montis Regalis, treated audiences to a highly accessible evening concert in the historic Spanish Hall at Schloss Ambras. The program was built around the theme Un giro d’Italia (A Tour of Italy), a concept that has gained considerable popularity {…}
The Kennedy Center board has announced that it plans to add Donald Trump’s name back on the performing arts center in September. The news was revealed in a court filing that said the board would add an inscription below the Kennedy Center’s sign that says the venue was “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” The Trump loyalist board {…}
(Photo: Enrico Nawrath) The night, replete with artistry on all sides, belonged to the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, who spun a brilliant column of sound throughout her fiercely emotional storytelling. Vocal pyrotechnics were amplified by Grigorian’s astonishing physical dexterity, her restless, near-gymnastic body language. Her interpretation of the role of Senta, daughter of influential villager Daland, unleashed a rebellion against {…}
Legendary soprano Ileana Cotrubaș has died at the age of 87. Born in Galați, Romania on June 9, 1939, Cotrubaș grew up in a musical family with her father, Vasile a tenor in an amateur choir. At the age of nine, she began her musical career becoming a member of the children’s radio choir and at the age of 11, {…}
The Berkeley Symphony has announced its 2026-27 season. Here are vocal performances. The Berkeley Symphony’s 2026–27 season concludes with “Remembrance,” a program of resilience and renewal. Conductor Kwamé Ryan leads the first live performance of the orchestral version of Jake Heggie’s “Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope,” featuring mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce and violinist Benjamin Beilman. The program also includes {…}
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has announced that Music Director Manfred Honeck will support a free first ticket for every new student who registers for PSO Go, the orchestra’s student ticket program. The orchestra said that a student who signs up receives their first concert ticket at no cost, courtesy of the Music Director, after which all student tickets are {…}
(Photo: Rossini Opera Festival) “The Journey to Reims” occupies a singular place in Gioachino Rossini’s catalogue today: few could have imagined that a work conceived as a circumstantial celebration of the coronation of Charles X would, two centuries later, become one of the most emblematic titles of the Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) in Pesaro and a veritable testing ground for {…}
Karen Slack has joined the roster of Opus 3 Artists for General Management. The soprano is curator and artistic advisor known for her fiery charisma and groundbreaking approach to engagement. Her debut album, “Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price” on Azica Records, won a GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Most recently Slack has toured her {…}
Death of Classical will launch its 10th Anniversary Season with a special partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, celebrating one of the most anticipated new operas, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” by composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek. Taking audiences beyond the traditional preview performance, Death of Classical will transform two historic New York cemeteries into immersive theatrical journeys inspired by {…}