St Louis is getting an opera house
Message received from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis: Today, Opera Theatre is excited to announce that we are under contract for the purchase of a 6.67-acre parcel of land upon which we plan to build […]
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Oldest German orchestra names Spanish principal oboe
The Staatskapelle Dresden (est. 1548) has appointed Mariano Esteban Barco as its principal oboe. Mariano, 30, is from Calanda in the region of Aragón. He has been principal oboe for the ast three years with […]
The New London Opera Group – Vaughan Williams’s The Poisoned Kiss
Vaughan Williams’s The Poisoned Kiss (completed 1928, premiered 1936) mixes gothic fantasy (or fairy tale) with quirky (if sometimes simplistic) humour, arriving at an improbably happy resolution with no fewer than six couples paired off in marriage […]
BBC Radio 3 celebrates 30 Years of Private Passions on Tuesday 15 April 2025
On Tuesday 15 April, Radio 3 celebrates the 30th anniversary of Private Passions, the series in which guests from all walks of life share the music that matters most to them with presenter Michael Berkeley. Michael, […]
10 years ago, 2 opera lives were lost
On March 24, 2015, we reported the crash of a Germanwings flight in which two opera singers – Maria Radner and Oleg Bryjak – lost their lives. They were among 150 victims of the disaster, […]
Franz Welser-Möst: I won’t appear at Kennedy, but please don’t boycott the USA
The music director of the Cleveland Orchestra has written a commentary on recent events for the Backstage Classical site. In it, the Austrian conductor spoke out strongly against artist boycotts, arguing that ‘culture must remain […]
Youth Opera, black spiders, contemporary Christmas capers, dancing Handel – Opera North’s 2025/26 season
Phyllida Lloyd’s 2006 production of Peter Grimes returns to Opera North in 2026 marking the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death (Photo: Bill Cooper) Opera North’s 2025/26 season opens at the Grand Theatre Leeds with something […]
Innovative narratives, the importance of local venues, inspirational outreach & unearthing manuscripts – The Continuo Foundation awards its ninth round of grants
The 31 Continuo Foundation round nine grantees The Continuo Foundation awarded its first round of grants in Spring 2021, and their lates round, the ninth, takes the total awarded up to an impressive £950,000. The […]
Swiss serialist, 89
The Swiss composer Pierre Mariétan died yesterday in his 90th year. A former associate of Boulez and Stockhausen, he leaves 300 instrumental, orchestral, vocal and electro-acoustic works. His pièce de résistance is Paysmusique (1991), which […]
London’s doomed South Bank will now shut on Mondays
The following message has just gone out from the sinking South Bank Centre: Important update: Royal Festival Hall closure on Mondays From Monday 7 April the Royal Festival Hall, including the Members Lounge, will be […]
