Month: July 2021

In her first appearance with the San Francisco Symphony, Colombian conductor Lina González-Granados leads the Symphony in two concerts this week – at Davies Symphony Hall on July 30th, and at the Frost Amphitheater, Stanford University, the following evening. The program of music includes the Suite No 1 from de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, Schumann’s…

Bizet’s Carmen, regarded as one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, is the latest production to be screened in the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD Summer Encores season – a series of cinema screenings of some of the Company’s greatest productions. Directed by Richard Eyre, this production – described at the time as…

Drama, bloodlust and murder rule in this dramatic production of Richard Strauss’ Elektra, starring soprano Christine Goerke in the title role – one of her greatest portrayals. Mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens takes the role of Klytemnestra, soprano Adrianne Pieczonka is Elektra’s sister, Chrysothemis, bass-baritone Alfred Walker – in his Company debut – sings the role of…

The traditional series of summer Concerts at the Prince’s Palace by the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra continues this week in the magnificent setting of the Courtyard of Honour. The performance, led by Czech conductor Tomáš Netopil, features music by Francis Poulenc and Bedřich Smetana, and the guest artists in the Poulenc Piano Concerto are Katia and…

The Alpine village of Verbier welcomes some of the greatest names in classical music to its mountain home over the next two weeks, as the 2021 Verbier Festival takes place. Launched in 1994 by Founder and Director Martin Engstroem, the Festival – with its glittering selection of events, both large-scale and intimate – is one…

San Francisco Opera’s production of Les Troyens (The Trojans) – one of the most significant and impressive works in the entire repertoire of opera – will be streamed online this weekend. This magnificent five-act production of Hector Berlioz’s operatic interpretation of Virgil’s epic poem, The Aeneid, is by Scottish director Sir David McVicar. Rarely staged,…

L’Été Danse! (Summer Dance) is Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s summer celebration of the joy of dance, and this year it falls into two programmes – Soirée “Créations” and Danse et Musique “Live”. For over thirty years, Choreographer-Director, Jean-Christophe Maillot, has actively promoted emerging talent within the Company, and this first programme Soirée “Créations” features two…

In the first of its July free opera streams, San Francisco Opera presents Leoš Janáček’s compelling family drama Jenůfa, staged at the War Memorial Opera House in June 2016. In this production, directed by Olivier Tambosi, the legendary Finnish soprano Karita Mattila makes her role debut as the domineering stepmother, Kostelniča Buryjovka, and Swedish soprano…

The first three concerts in the July SFJAZZ Fridays at Five sessions feature a truly international mix – Portuguese fado singer Mariza, world music Ukranian group DakhaBrakha, and the Bay Area’s soul/funk/R&B band Con Brio. Regarded as one of fado’s greatest stars of today, Mariza is the first Portuguese musician to have been nominated for…

This month, the Concertgebouworkest appears in concert in Berlin to mark the occasion of a state visit to the German city by King Willem Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Led by Iván Fischer, who has been appointed the orchestra’s honorary guest conductor as of the 2021-22 season, the Concertgebouworkest plays Mozart’s Violin Concerto…