A Viennese Christmas would not be complete without the glorious sounds of the Vienna Boys’ Choir. We asked the choir members to select their favorite Christmas carols that they have performed.

What makes a piece popular? How does a piece survive its first few performances? What makes something a warhorse, played over and over again, easily marketed from decade to decade? Who decides what’s good, anyway? Here are 18 underrated concertos – ones that don’t get played all that much, but maybe should be more widely known.

The opera house can be a scary place – and we’re not talking about all those crazy singers and their shenanigans backstage! Many operas contain ghastly ghouls, ghosts, goblins, witches, dragons, and all kinds of crazy creatures. Here are some of the most frightening pieces from the history of opera.

Whether bosom buddies or esteemed colleagues, there’s no doubt that these composers enjoyed genuine friendships that would influence their personal and professional lives.

If “Music oft hath such a charm / To make bad good, and good provoke to harm,” perhaps these 10 Shakespeare-inspired operas will charm you.

“Opera is deeply satisfying in a way that Shakespeare cannot be,” stage director Barlett Sher said backstage at Lyric Opera of Chicago during rehearsals for Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

Can you imagine a world without the music of Handel, Tchaikovsky, or Britten? These great composers of the past are just a few of many important musical figures who did not identify as heterosexual.