Robert Ainsley succeeds Francesca Zambello, who led Glimmerglass, a summer festival of opera and theater, for more than a decade. In an interview, Ainsley said he was committed to building on Zambello’s efforts to “make this an art form for everyone.” - The New York Times
The record is an unusual proposition: A rare fusion of pow wow—an Indigenous culture of music and dance—and experimental electronic production. Holding it all together are sampled live recordings of pow wow singing and drumming stretching back decades. - Pitchfork
Composer Tobias Picker and librettist Dr. Aryeh Lev Stollman have written Awakenings, based on the late neurologist Oliver Sacks's memoir/case study about treating encephalitis lethargica patients and about to premiere in St. Louis. (And this isn't even the first opera based on an Oliver Sacks case study.) - The New York Times
Composer Stewart Wallace and librettist Michael Korie have removed 70 minutes, and many cameo roles, from Milk, and made arrangements for orchestras of 66 and 31 players, down from over 80. Says Wallace, "There's not a single bar that's the same, even though it's definitely the same opera." - The New York Times
What everyone agrees on is that this very talented and still very young conductor will have the kind of opportunities in Germany that simply aren’t available here. - Edmonton Journal
You'd probably picture some winsome soprano singing the Queen of the Night and Zerbinetta, not a big, bearded tenor who sings Peter Grimes. But that's how composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn describe Allan Clayton, for whom they wrote the title role in their Hamlet. - The New York Times
Two major projects were launched in 2017 aimed at getting more female acts on stages - ReBalance and KeyChange - after a BBC study had found around 80% of headliners were all-male. Five years on, new analysis by the BBC indicates there's been little change at the top of the bills. - BBC
"In a city that ... became used to wailing air-raid sirens and the thuds of artillery from the suburbs, the audience was instead treated to the frothy melodies of Rossini's The Barber of Seville." But they're limiting the audience to 300 people so they can evacuate quickly if necessary. - The Observer (UK)
This isn’t to say opera shouldn’t be political — though I’m thoroughly skeptical of its ability to tackle social issues in a way that isn’t preaching to the choir — but that there should be equilibrium and variety. Where’s the balance? Where’s the funny? - San Francisco Classical Voice
It’s called “frisson,” and it’s the reason why music from artists featured on a recently released, scientifically-backed playlist of songs that researchers claim are likely to give people “chills.” - Big Think
It’s hard to figure out how many people are making a middle-class living on music streaming, but I note that you don’t earn the minimum wage on Spotify until you generate more than 3 million streams per year. - Ted Gioia
Sure, ABBA are doing it now, but what's next - recreated Liszt concerts? (We'd probably need video for that - but who knows what the future may hold?) - The Observer (UK)
His band Aphrodite's Child created "1972’s astonishing double concept album 666, which delivered 77 minutes of wildly experimental music that touched on jazz, proto-metal, prog and stuff that still defies explication." - The Guardian (UK)
Orchestra director Iolanta Pryshlyak, who also coordinates a flow of medical and humanitarian supplies, said, "War makes your heart like a stone. ... But music can soften it again." - The New York Times
The English composer, now remembered primarily as a firebrand suffragette, and librettist Henry Brewster wrote this story (of Cornish villagers who survive by plundering shipwrecks) in French. But it was produced, with cuts, first in German, then in English, then not at all. This summer sees the original version's premiere. - The Guardian
