The place : La Scala di Milano The Opera : Le nozze di Figaro Composer: Johannes Chrisostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb (Mozart!) Script: Lorenzo da Ponte Inaugurated in 1778 La Scala was the heart of musical Milano for the last 200 years.

The Royal Opera House’s new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma was one of the most anticipated performances of the season, principally due to the casting of Anna Netrebko in the title role. When the Russian diva pulled out shortly after

Robert Schumann’s Advice to Young Musicians was originally written in 1848 to accompany his famous, and still very popular, Album for the Young, a suite of piano pieces for children and students. Schumann was a remarkable, forward-looking man, not least

It’s hard to justify the arduous trip to Pesaro. The unremarkable town on Italy’s Adriatic coast has poor train connections, it’s a dull two hour car ride from Bologna, and the nearest airport is Ancona Falconara, a run-down and inefficient

Ahead of their appearance in Hong Kong, we caught up with the Takács Quartet and asked them a few questions about their long career and what they saw for the future. Takács Quartet is Edward Dusinberre, first violin; Károly Schranz,

Not exactly seated in the center of the world you have to be curious about opera or love it to come to Ravenna for its opera season. Located about 10 km from the Adriatic sea, this city founded at least

He was a drunkard, a nearly illiterate loudmouth, and a serial womanizer with a natural gift for seemingly endless self-promotion. He strong-armed and bullied his way to personal fame and fortune by building a gaming syndicate, and intuitively and prosperously

One year after the launch of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ring Cycle, Music Director Jaap van Zweden brings us Die Walküre (the Valkyrie), the second installment of Richard Wagner’s monumental opera tetralogy.