The golden age of the castrato lasted roughly a century – from the mid-1600s to the late 1700s – before shifting tastes and growing ethical discomfort brought the practice to an end. The singers who defined that era were among

The castrato voice is one of the most fascinating – and troubling – phenomena in the history of classical music. Produced by castrating boys before puberty, this vocal type combined the lung capacity and physical power of a male body

For most pianists, practising occupies far more time than performing. Indeed, for many amateur musicians, public performance may be relatively infrequent or not particularly important at all. Our musical lives are lived largely in private: at the piano, alone with

Opera Rara’s 56th season begins on 4 October 2026. While best known for restoring and reviving bel canto operas and the exceptional “Donizetti Song Project,” the company has also championed the music of Jacques Offenbach since its founding in 1970.

Nowadays, the music of violinist Niccolò Paganini has largely fallen out of fashion, save among violin nerds. But Paganini was one of the earliest icons of the Romantic Era, and he lived a colourful life to prove it. In 1946,

When we look at the modern orchestra, we assume that those instruments have been there unchanged for centuries. Yet, like all things in the world, they’re subject to change, to alterations, and even experimentation. In their search for new or

Mozart‘s love life was as dramatic as any opera he ever wrote. He carried on a raucous correspondence with his cousin, fell hard for a teenage soprano who rejected him, and married his first love’s younger sister. Some music lovers

The Paris Conservatoire was founded in 1795 after the French Revolution. Since then, many of classical music’s greatest figures have passed through its doors. Initially, women weren’t allowed to benefit from the Conservatoire’s rigorous education. In fact, women weren’t admitted