The actor and soprano made her Broadway debut as Christine in “The Phantom of the Opera,” becoming the first Black woman in the role in the show’s 33-year history in New York.

Renée Fleming and conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin brainstormed on songs they could perform together at a piano.

Twelve pianists from around the world have been admitted to the final stage of the 18th edition of the prestigious Frederic Chopin piano competition, reputed for launching world careers for its winners and finalists.

Financing new music is never an easy feat. A pandemic has only made it more difficult.

The competition was scheduled for the fall of 2020, but authorities put the popular event off due to social distancing rules.

Mazzola speaks with WFMT general manager George Preston about returning to live performance, Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, and what he loves most about being a Chicagoan.

Fire Shut Up in My Bones became the first work by a Black composer in the 138-year history of the Metropolitan Opera as the company presented its first staged performance since March 2020 following a gap caused by the coronavirus.

The 2021-22 season was initially meant to be Muti’s final as music director, but because of the many Muti-led concerts that were canceled as a consequence of the pandemic, that date has been pushed back.

WFMT talks with the outspoken mezzo-soprano about what it means to take on the role of Carmen, why she’s excited to open the COT season, and how modern-day audiences and artists can best confront the more outdated aspects of Carmen and other beloved operas.

After six years as music director, van Zweden’s will be the shortest tenure of anyone in a half-century.

Matthew Polenzani, one of the artists performing at the Met’s Verdi Requiem commemorative concerts on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, reflects on why music can help us heal.

After a nearly-18-month absence, the concert series will welcome in-person audiences at a new venue: the Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago.

The Metropolitan Opera reached a four-year agreement with the union for its orchestra, the last major deal needed for the company to resume performances following a 1 1/2-year layoff caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Carnegie Hall has changed the program for its return from the coronavirus shutdown and added a Beethoven cycle to the season with the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

When its season kicks off this autumn, the CSO will require audiences to share proof of full COVID vaccination or a recent negative test.

A month ahead of opening night, Lyric Opera of Chicago announces that all audience members will have to show proof of their full vaccination against COVID-19.

The autumn’s ten concerts will be held on the University of Chicago campus in the South Side’s Hyde Park neighborhood.

Carnegie Hall has not had a performance since March 13, 2020.

July 28, 2021, the 80th birthday of the CSO music director, is Riccardo Muti Day in Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proclaimed.

The new company launches with fully staged works by Puccini and Wolf-Ferrari, plus a concert inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy.

The Santa Fe Opera’s first performance over the weekend included an unmasked cast and a masked audience.

The CSO announces an array of concerts from September to January.

As Chicago continues its emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, residents can look forward to a relatively normal summer.

Ahead of the season premiere of the 2021 Grant Park Music Festival, WFMT met up with chorus director Christopher Bell, who reflects on returning to live music, previews the opening Independence Day Salute, and talks about a summer of great music to come.

Bruce Springsteen reprises his Broadway show for a summer run, another sign of live entertainment’s rebirth after a 15-month pause because of COVID-19.