International

VIENNA – The conventions of Italian tragic opera are spoofed in Florian Gassmann’s L’opera seria, staged here for the first time since its 1769 premiere. “An accursed business!” exclaims the impresario. “You’d be crazy to get involved.”

VIENNA – In the Vienna State Opera's rare revival of Luisa Miller, the heroine works at a food-delivery company whose headquarters are decked out in bright yellow and red. The musical performance argues for wider access to the work.

UTRECHT – Liszt Utrecht 2026 and the Netherlands Violin Competition presented two perspectives on how competitions work when they are designed as cultural ecosystems nurturing artistic growth and public engagement.

FRANKFURT – Three operas over as many evenings at Oper Frankfurt revealed why the company has repeatedly been honored as Germany's top opera house. The shows also displayed the breadth of American talent here.

VIENNA – Stepping in for Hahn, who was to play Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto but had to cancel, violinist Alena Baeva (right) appeared with London's visiting Philharmonia Orchestra led by principal conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali.

HONG KONG – Amid the hustle and bustle of cars, trucks, and jackhammers, a concert of works by Locatelli, Tartini, Vivaldi, and Beethoven felt like a breath of fresh air. Added to the mix was soothing Satie and the calm moves of flow artist Chris Lam.

PARIS – Every September through December since 1972, Paris has opened its doors to Festival d’Automne, a nomadic, multidisciplinary event dedicated to the new and harnessing the French audience’s voracious appetite for discovery.

MILAN – At La Scala, it was Mozart with onstage cameras, jumbo screens, a control room, and a studio audience, all in a setting dominated by a bubblegum palette. Up the road, in Bergamo, Donizetti's Caterina Cornaro looped through time.

VIENNA – Johann Strauss II embodies the paradoxes of Viennese musical culture, its extravagance and conservatism. Celebrations have revealed the composer as a projection for ahistoricism as well as political correctness.

TOKYO – In concerts at Suntory Hall two days apart, the Japan Philharmonic led by 85-year-old Ken-ichiro Kobayashi delivered a powerful Sibelius Second, and Finland-based native son Tateno Izumi, 88, played a program for the left hand.

MADRID – Béla Bartók believed that his sexually charged ballet-pantomime The Miraculous Mandarin was the perfect companion piece to his opera Bluebeard’s Castle (right). A collaboration between two companies illustrated the point.

STOCKHOLM – Making a rare exception, the Birgit Nilsson Prize committee conferred its triennial award not on an individual but on the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in a ceremony that included a performance by soprano Matilda Sterby (right).

PERSPECTIVE – Philippe Jordan led the Vienna State Opera production starring Clay Hilley in the title role, while Mark Elder presided over a staging at the Grand Théâtre de Genève as understudy Samuel Sakker (right) met the part's demands.

VIENNA – The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra's program of music by Alexander Zemlinsky and Lili Boulanger illustrated the modern embrace of composers once viewed as too conservative by progressives, but too adventurous by the public.

ZURICH – Just into Matthias Schulz's first season as artistic director, Zurich Opera was named Opera House of the Year 2025 by Opernwelt magazine. The four creative stagings I saw made clear that Schulz expects to uphold that standard.

BAYREUTH – The 2025 Bayreuth Festival, which annually celebrates Wagner's music dramas, was a mix of pleasures and provocations, a menu that included Parsifal (pictured at right) and a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

INNSBRUCK – Under the thematic banner "Who holds the strings?," the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music juxtaposed singers with marionettes, examining power relations among mortals in a revival of Caldara's 1718 opera Ifigenia in Aulide.

CANBERRA – Mixing a world premiere with works by Gershwin and Shostakovich featuring pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and longtime leader Richard Tognetti opened their next chapter with familiar fire.

PÄRNU, Estonia – In an early tribute to Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday Sept. 11, the 2025 Pärnu Music Festival reflected the composer's vital, career-long connection to the Järvi clan of maestros: patriarch Neeme and sons Paavo and Kristjan (right).

BERLIN – Ample government subsidies have allowed German companies to take risks, and that spirit has been bolstered by the enthusiasm of a young, hip audience quite different from the older crowd that shows up for more traditional fare.