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Around the U.S.

Reliving The Nightmare Of ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ As Bleak, Harrowing Opera

SAN FRANCISCO – A revival of Poul Ruders and Paul Bentley’s opera based on Margaret Atwood's futuristic story about women reduced to child-bearers in a theocratic United States, the San Francisco Opera's take was unsettling in its clarity.

Orchestra In Transition Serves Latin Licks, But ‘Rhapsody’ Isn’t Bluesy

SEATTLE – After naming Xian Zhang as its music director-designate, the Seattle Symphony opened its season with conductor emeritus Ludovic Morlot leading an upbeat Spanish/Latin program capped by a tepid Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue.

In Valley 6,000 Feet Up, Gem Of A Music Festival Sparkles Four Decades

SUN VALLEY, Idaho – Situated in this flower-laden resort town, the Sun Valley Music Festival is unlike anything else in its posh setting: It's free. Writers from the Music Critics Association of North America had a close look at the spirited event.

Peering Into The Void: Concert Fare Explores Realm Of Mental Health

NEW YORK – The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center tapped into this year's Summer for the City theme with Schumann and the world premiere of Hannah Kendall’s He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.

Global Youth Ensembles Fill Carnegie Hall With Vibe Of Art And Energy

NEW YORK – Some of the summer's most exhilarating music-making emanated from 700 young musicians from five continents and 35 countries forming seven orchestras, a joyful meeting of minds at World Orchestra Week.

At A Mountain Festival, Opera Meets Musical As Puccini, Weill Converge

CENTRAL CITY, Colo. – In this historical mining town, Central City Opera's 92nd summer season brought together Kurt Weill's 1947 "Broadway opera" Street Scene and Puccini's La fanciulla del West, both presented in inspiring productions.

Opera At Glimmerglass, From Madcap G&S To Verismo, Faithless Gods

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – In its first summer season devised by new artistic and general director Rob Ainsley, the festival mixes a vaudevillian Pirates of Penzance with potent accounts of Pagliacci, La Calisto (pictured) and the grisly Elizabeth Cree.

Strait But Not Narrow: Washington Music Fest Transcends Mainstream

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Situated on the edge of Olympic National Forest, a ferry ride from Victoria, B.C., the thriving two-week Music on the Strait festival featured pianist Jeremy Denk in music of Beethoven and parts of Ives' Concord Sonata.

TIME:SPANS Promises Relief From August Heat At Cool New-Music Fest

NEW YORK – August in New York City is hot and humid. That may be one reason why the esoteric offerings at the TIME:SPANS festival draw so well. The ninth edition unfolds Aug. 10-24 at the air-conditioned DiMenna Center for Classical Music.

Multifaceted Concerts Honor Koussevitzky As Tanglewood’s Founder

LENOX, Mass. – The Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons saluted the 150th birthday of Russian-born composer-conductor Serge Koussevitzky, the BSO's longtime music director and progenitor of the Tanglewood Music Festival.

At Tanglewood Festival, New Music’s Diversity Spoke In Many Accents

LENOX, Mass. – In six concerts, Tanglewood's Festival of Contemporary Music, curated by veteran composers Tania León and Steven Mackey, offered works by two dozen composers embracing a wide array of distinctive styles.

Mehta, 88, And Old Pal Zukerman Reunite For Mozart At Modern Bowl

HOLLYWOOD – Conductor Zubin Mehta was back on the Hollywood Bowl stage after a 31-year absence, leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With him in the refurbished venue was a friend and familiar partner, violinist Pinchas Zukerman.

’10 Days In a Madhouse’ Named Best New Opera By Critics Association

BREAKING NEWS – The work by composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch, based on an exposé of asylum abuses, is the winner of the 2024 Award for Best New Opera conferred by the Music Critics Association of North America.

Manic ‘Barber,’ Blistering ‘Salome,’ Plus Premiere: Opera In Quiet Iowa

INDIANOLA, Iowa – In an adventurous 52nd season, Des Moines Metro Opera also caught the nightmarish quality of Pelléas et Mélisande (pictured) and offered the world premiere of composer Damien Geter's American Apollo.

In The Rainy Northwest, New Festival Conductor And Breath Of Fresh Air

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The seemingly complicated business of finding a new music director for the Bellingham Festival of Music turned out to be an easy task. In his first summer here, Brazilian-born Marcelo Lehninger has proved to be a fine fit.

In Leadership Turmoil, Oregon Bach Festival Showcases Its Vitality

MOUNT ANGEL, Ore. – Though dogged by a seven-year interlude without an artistic director, the 54-year-old festival reveled once again in joyful performances of the music of Bach and a generous display of audience enthusiasm.

‘Beethoven Effect,’ Still Felt Across Generations, Sparks A Chamber Fest

PORTLAND, Ore. – The great composer's enduring influence is being explored in works by a wide range of his musical descendants, with concerts across the city through July 28, all part of the Chamber Music Northwest 2024 Summer Festival.

As Vocalists Sink Teeth, Words And Genres Get Pushed, Pulled, Chewed

KATONAH, N.Y. – At the Caramoor Festival, the ensemble Roomful of Teeth offered a genre-ignoring, playfully provocative program with titles like Psychedelics, On Stochastic Wave Behavior, and "GaNaDaRaMaBaSa AJaChaKaTaPaHa."

Bach Festival, Newly Adventurous, Turns Its Spotlight On Monteverdi

CHARLOTTE – The Charlotte Bach Festival not only went conductor-less for its nine-day run, but also capped this year's spurt of offbeat programming by turning away from the traditional grand Bach finale in favor of Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610.

Plucky Chamber Festival Stays The Course Even If The Chamber Is Hot

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – The Halcyon Music Festival, founded here by Heng-Jin Park in 2014, narrowly weathered the pandemic, but the intimate event has found a base of chamber-music buffs who have braved both Covid and high heat sans relief.
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