Das Rheingold, Royal Opera House, London

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/16568476-71c6-11dc-8960-0000779fd2ac.html

HAYNES: The End of Early Music ó A Period Performer’s History of Music for the Twenty-First Century

Once upon a time, there was something known as early music. This was not so much a repertoire, a musico-historical epoch, as an attitude, a counter-cultural group.

Carmen at ENO

There is a certain onerous responsibility in developing a new production of Carmen at a major house.

JAN¡?EK: Jen?fa

Across the country from Los Angeles, the Metropolitan Opera has opened its 2007-08 season with big stars (Netrebko, Alagna, Dessay, Giordani) in juicy, melodic operas by Donizetti and Gounod.

Allegri ìMiserereî; Palestrina ìMissa Papae Marcelliî

This is a recording that glories in iconicity.

Dusting off a MasterpieceÖ ìThe Fortunes of King Croesusî by Reinhard Keiser, coming to Opera North, Leeds and Minnesota Opera soon.

Masterpiece? The term rather depends on whether the artist in question was indeed a master and it might come as a surprise to learn that this little-known composer of the brief, but significant, German Baroque Opera period is regarded by many as just that.

Margaret Garner at NYCO

The New York City Operaís production of Richard Danielpourís and Toni Morrisonís opera, Margaret Garner, boldly faces the ugly history of slavery in the United States, and the racism inherent in the institution of opera.

Hear the Voice and Prayer

There are a number of signs of the popularity of the Kingís Singersótheir longevity as an ensemble, the huge success of their public concerts, and their sizable discography all come immediately to mind.

The Feast of St. Edward, King and Confessor at Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey is surely many things to many people.

Playing Elizabethís Tune

The 2004 DVD “Playing Elizabethís Tune,” originating in a BBC television production, features concert performances of Byrdís sacred music sung by the Tallis Scholars along with documentary material treating the composer and his time.