Christos Makridis of Arizona State University: “I found the public’s demand for meaningful, live cultural experiences — including opera — remains strong. … (But) few opera companies have embraced strategies the rest of the entertainment industry regularly uses: audience data analysis, experimentation with digital content and streaming, engagement through online platforms rather than brochures.” - The Conversation
The rhythms that resonate in wedding halls, concert stages and apartment blocks are falling silent, as the Pakistani government pursues a wave of expulsions that has already forced out a million Afghans since last year. - The New York Times
The company is laying off 22 of its 284 administrative staffers, reducing pay for 35 of its top executives (including general director Peter Gelb and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin), and dropping one production from next season’s schedule. - The Guardian
The women of 18th-century Venice’s ospedali (homes for the destitute, the sick, and orphans) are remembered largely because Vivaldi composed music for them. History has mostly overlooked them in favor of the famous men around them, but we now know that they were highly trained, ferociously talented, and deeply ambitious. - Early Music America
It says a lot that this orchestra is confident enough to let a critic see it rehearse from start to finish, on the record. Perhaps it says more that I was not allowed to sit onstage, to guard against distractions. - The New York Times
The conductor, who was music director of the Israel Philharmonic for 39 years, retiring in 2020, said his decision to withdraw from concerts there was to protest Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policies toward the Palestinians. - Moto Perpetuo
"I eventually stopped looking at the video, or tried to, as did my guest, but was then faced with the initial problem, that is, listening to a complete ballet, with its many discursions and tangents, in concert, without dancers." - Classical Life
One huge tell: If you listen to a few of “Rose’s” tracks, “you'll hear a telltale hiss. … That's a common trait of music generated on apps like Suno and Udio - partly because of the way they start with white noise and gradually refine it until it resembles music.” - BBC
But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. “AI music is here to stay, and rather than fighting it, we should understand its benefits as a tool for artists—either to amplify existing production processes or to introduce new ways of designing music.” - Fast Company
The opera, which "received an influx of donations, from more than 500 donors, after its announcement last Friday that it would seek a new home … will host two operas this spring season at George Washington University, where the organization got its start nearly 70 years ago.” - The New York Times
Called I know, You're Not Mine - Jag vet, du är inte min - it is currently top of the Spotify playlist of Sweden's most popular songs. But the singer is a digital creation and the country's music industry body has blocked the track from its official chart listings. - BBC
Paying Spotify subscribers have been flagging the platform’s push of AI music for a while, but now they’re drawing a line, with many calling on the streaming giant to roll out filters to identify which songs have been generated by AI. - TechRadar
Composer Michael Gordon on the late Richard Foreman’s script for What to Wear: “It’s a piece with four Madeline Xs. They’re trying to find things to wear, they are undergoing analysis, experts are confused about them and there’s a duck. … And that’s really what the piece is about.” - The New York Times
Following on Antonio Pappano’s widely-praised 22-year reign as the company’s music director, 44-year-old Jakub Hrůša has taken the baton, with Speranza Scappucci joining as the Royal Opera’s first principal guest conductor in three decades. - AP
