Opera

Jessye Norman at L'Olympia on June 26, 2012.

World-Renowned Soprano Jessye Norman Dies at 74

The opera star, who championed diversity in the arts, was known for her singular voice and versatile range

After a 30 Year Absence, the Controversial ‘Porgy and Bess’ Is Returning to the Met Opera

From its debut, the show has been accused of cultural appropriation and stereotyping

A scene from Verdi's opera Rigoletto during a photo rehearsal on the lake stage as part of the Bregenz Festival. The premiere will take place on July 17.

There's a Massive Jester Floating on Austria's Lake Constance

Each year at the Bregenz Festival, a set designer creates an elaborate opera stage on the water

Maurice Sendak, "Diorama of Moishe scrim and flower proscenium (Where the Wild Things Are)," 1979-1983, watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite pencil on laminated paperboard.

See Maurice Sendak’s Little-Known Designs for the Opera and Ballet

A new exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum explores how the 'Where the Wild Things Are' author pivoted to a career in set and costume design

The Mile-Long Opera will be held at the High Line in New York City from October 3 through 8.

This Weekend, NYC’s High Line Takes Center Stage for a "Mile-Long Opera"

1,000 singers from around the city will descend on the popular park to showcase the stories of New Yorkers

Cover art for sheet music from the original Tabasco opera, 1894.

Long-Forgotten Opera About Tabasco Sauce Heats Up Stage Again After Almost 125 Years

Thanks to some musical sleuthing, George W. Chadwick's ode to the now ubiquitous hot sauce brand has been revitalized by the New Orleans Opera

The Dance Class, c. 1873. Oil on canvas.

One Hundred Years Later, the Tense Realism of Edgar Degas Still Captivates

For this groundbreaking artist, greatness was always one more horizon away

Jennifer Zetlan who plays Rhoda in "Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt"

Watch a Dinosaur Opera at New York's American Museum of Natural History

Sink your teeth into the family friendly “Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt”

A typical day for three musicians in the Medici Court. This portrait, of three unnamed musicians, was painted circa 1687.

Three Things to Know About Francesca Caccini, the Renaissance Musical Genius You’ve Never Heard Of

The first female opera composer, Caccini worked for the super-rich-and-powerful Medici family

Jenny Lind was massively popular in Europe and England, but she was a virtual unknown in America before 1849.

Why 30,000 People Came Out to See a Swedish Singer Arrive in New York

Most of them had never even heard Jenny Lind sing

'The Shining' Looks to Raise Hairs and Octaves in Its Opera Debut

The Minnesota Opera will debut its take on the horror novel in a new production by Pulitzer-prize winning composer Paul Moravec

Tom Randle plays Macheath, or “Mack the Knife,” in a production of Benjamin Britten’s The Beggar’s Opera.

The Strange Career of “Mack the Knife”

As old Macheath is inducted into the National Recording Registry, here's a look back at his long musical life

Jobs holds up an iPhone 4 at a tech conference in 2010.

Steve Jobs is About to Get His Own Opera

But will it include a singing Woz?

The Sydney Opera House at night

He Designed the Sydney Opera House...But Wasn't Even Invited to its Opening

Somehow, an inexperienced architect and a mismanaged project still produced one of the world's most iconic buildings

Marian Anderson as Ulrica in the Verdi opera Un ballo in maschera

60 Years Ago, the First African-American Soloist Sang at the Met Opera

Marian Anderson performed as the fortuneteller Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera

Marian Anderson performing at the DAR Constitution Hall.

Four Years After Marian Anderson Sang at the Lincoln Memorial, D.A.R. Finally Invited Her to Perform at Constitution Hall

A benefit concert presaged the opera singer’s eventual rapprochement with the Daughters of the American Revolution

This bronze portrait bust of German composer Richard Wagner, sculptured by artist Arno Breker, resides in Bayreuth, Germany, home of the annual festival honoring his work.

The Brilliant, Troubled Legacy of Richard Wagner

As the faithful flock to the Bayreuth Festival in his bicentennial year, the spellbinding German composer continues to fascinate, inspire and infuriate

Tenor Darren Abraham plays Albert White, the previously unsung steelworker and bicycling champ.

An Opera for an English Olympic Hero

Lal White was forgotten by many, even residents of his small English factory town, but the whimsical Cycle Song hopes to change that

George Frideric Handel (at age 64 in 1749) produced works, including Messiah that dazzled even the musical titans who would succeed him.

The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah

A musical rite of the holiday season, the Baroque-era oratorio still awes listeners more than 250 years after the composer's death

In 1907, recordings were interred in metal urns at the Palais Garnier, to be reopened in 100 years

A Record Find

How The Phantom of the Opera led me to a long-lost musical treasure in Paris

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