No need to grin and bear it No need to grin and bear it

An exciting cast digs their claws into a heady production of La Calisto at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées.

Garden party Garden party

Two of France’s leading Early Music ensembles recently visited New York City to perform music by some of the 17th century’s leading composers.

Guys who sing high (and others) Guys who sing high (and others)

A stack of noteworthy recent baroque vocal CDs on my desk has been staring at me for weeks, so I’m tackling them on Handel’s birthday before the Met roars back into action beginning this weekend.

Everything old is new again Everything old is new again

All things were, indeed, made new again, when Boston’s venerable Handel & Haydn Society brought Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro to the stage, their first time doing so in its entirety, as their 2,576th concert on Thursday.

Band in Boston Band in Boston

In the triumphant American premiere of Orlando Generoso at the Boston Early Music Festival last week, the hippogriff was among the many stars of the show.

Crepuscolo Crepuscolo

“It’s not easy being green”: especially if you’re the two greatest Italian opera composers.

Lyrists’ club Lyrists’ club

For one week every two years since 1981 the eyes—and ears—of those interested in period performance turn to the Boston Early Music Festival, particularly to its opera centerpiece, but that organization doesn’t rest on its laurels in between festivals.

Teen queen Teen queen

Handel’s first surviving musical composition is Almira, the opera he wrote in a hurry when shake-ups at the Hamburg opera house, where the 19-year-old had been playing in the violin section, left a planned production unfinished.