opera

Lyric Opera Baltimore will close its season and mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a production of Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette," conducted by Adam Turner

As a long-time opera fan, I just love the simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera. To see the singer/actors' facial expressions — for example, Suzuki's sympathy when she knows Madame Butterfly has been taken advantage of by the U.S. Naval officer, Lt. Pinkerton — is more than worth the admission price. Up close and personal can last a lifetime.

No-shows and last-minute cancellations increasingly plague the hospitality industry as online platforms such as OpenTable remove the personal interactions reservation once required, and reduce the guilt customers feel for backing out at the last minute, say industry analysts, owners and consumers. Restaurants across the country have started raising the stakes for diners who back out.

A critic's notebook on a New York weekend hearing Mahler from the Philharmonic and visiting Baltimore Symphony, and Donizetti at the Metropolitan Opera.

A look at music, theater and literature with a local angle taking note of 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

A look behind "The City," a multimedia work about Baltimore, past and present (including Freddie Gray riots), with music by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kevin Puts and film by James Bartolomeo, being premiered in April by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, led by Marin Alsop.

St. Patrick's Day and the days around it might as well be marked in green on the March calendar, because this festive holiday seemingly has everybody in an Irish mood. That's certainly the case for the Columbia Orchestra's Symphonic Pops concert on Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Jim Rouse Theatre.

Lyric Opera Baltimore returned from hiatus to deliver lively production of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville."

The Kennedy Center's 2016-2017 season will focus on JFK centennial and welcome Q-Tip, Renee Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma as artistic partners.

Judges and attorneys are cast members in the Young Victorian Theatre Company's upcoming performances of "Trial by Jury," a 40-minute Gilbert & Sullivan operetta that pokes fun at the legal profession. The comedy confection is being staged this week for a serious purpose, as a fundraiser by the Maryland Bar Foundation, the nonprofit affiliate and fundraising arm of the Baltimore Bar Association, to raise money to represent the legally underserved — defendants who can't afford an attorney.

Baltimore's 122-year-old Lyric Opera House will welcome its first female conductor for an opera production when Sara Jobin leads Rossini's "The Barber of Seville."

Puccini's second opera, "Edgar," long regarded as a major flop, revealed its musical qualities in a presentation by Baltimore Concert Opera.

Washington National Opera stages a thoughtful revival of "Lost in the Stars," the flawed "musical tragedy" by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson, starring Eric Owens.

Peabody Chamber Opera offers mostly effective staging of Paul Crabtree's "The Ghost Train" at B&O Railroad Museum.

A look back at the origins and early days of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as it prepares to celebrate its centennial Feb. 11.

Peabody Chamber Opera will give first full staging of Paul Crabtree's "Ghost Train," which will be held amid the trains of the B&O Railroad Museum.

Paul Meecham, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra president and CEO for 10 years, will step down at the end of June to become president and CEO of the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera.

The redesigned touring production of "The Phantom of the Opera" is a stylish hit in Baltimore's Hippodrome.

Billionaire theater producer Cameron ("Cats," "Les Miserables," "Miss Saigon," etc.) Mackintosh discusses his revamped production of "The Phantom of the Opera" heading to Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre.

Philip Glass revised "Appomattox," which gets premiered Nov. 14 by Washington National Opera, to emphasize the 20th-century civil rights struggle as much as the Civil War.

Annex Theater stages a famous opera by Mozart with a virtual orchestra and a mix of classical and pop voices.

Reviews of recent musical activity from threel organizations in Baltimore area.

Peabody Institute grad Frances Pollock has composed an opera about 14-year-old African American George Stinney, executed in S. Carolina in 1944, exonerated 70 years later.

Sandy Richmond, longtime president and executive director of Baltimore's Modell-Lyric Center heads to Detroit's Fox Theatre; search underway for successor.

Opera Philadelphia gives East Coast premiere of "Oscar," with music by Theodore Morrison, libretto by Morrison and John Cox, and a cast headed by countertenor David Daniels.

A look back at the most memorable peaks from Baltimore's classical music and theater scenes in 2014.

Baltimore Concert Opera offers fascinating opportunity to experience Franc Faccio's "Hamlet"-inspired "Amleto," 143 years after it was last heard.

Franco Faccio's version of 'Hamlet,' unheard for 143 years, will be performed by Baltimore Concert Opera in advance of its US staged premiere in Arizona.

As Christmas 1914 approached, Benedict XV, who described the war as "the suicide of Europe," pleaded for a Christmas truce. The military leaders refused, but