From WTTW: 2021 Chicago Summer Festival Guide

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

Backstage at the Grant Park Music Festival, WFMT Catches Up With Christopher Bell

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 marks the return of live shows on Broadway

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.

Terell Johnson on Extending the ‘Great Path’ of the Chicago Phil

Johnson, the incoming director of the Chicago Phil, reflects that he “can’t stress enough how important it is to champion those voices that haven’t been heard.”

Chicago Opera Theater Announces Live, In-Person 2021-22 Season

From Carmen to Claus, learn what is in store for the next season of Chicago Opera Theater.

After 18+ Months, Muti Will Return To Chicago To Kick Off 2021-22 CSO Season

Riccardo Muti will return to Chicago this September to launch the 2021-22 CSO season, his first stint conducting the CSO in Symphony Center since February 2020.

NY Philharmonic to resume subscription performance Sept. 17

Following a historic 18-month gap, the NY Phil will present a shortened schedule in a season shifted from Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall while the orchestra’s home is remodeled.

Grant Park Music Festival Announces Full Capacity for Entire Season

In conjunction with Chicago’s ongoing reopening, the Grant Park Music Festival will offer full-capacity seating for its entire 2021 season.

Preview: A Look at the Live Music Of North Shore Chamber Music Fest

Enjoy the beauty of live music-making (even if you aren’t there in person) with a star-studded chamber music sampler of works new and old.

Music of the Baroque Is Back With Messiah, Mozart, Haydn for 2021-22

Music of the Baroque today announced its plans for a 2021-22 season, the venerable Chicago area ensemble’s 51st.

Announcing the Grant Park Music Festival 2021 Broadcasts

With the Grant Park Music Festival’s long-awaited return to live programming in sight, WFMT is thrilled to resume the annual series of live radio broadcasts from the Pritzker Pavilion.

La Scala announces 2021-22 season, with hope of fewer limits

Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala has announced a 2021-22 season of 13 operas, seven ballets and numerous concerts as Italy’s most important theater looks toward a gradual removal of pandemic restrictions.

Live Music is Back For 2021… Here’s Everything We Know.

After a long year away, live music is returning to the Chicago area. So watch this space, where we’ll collect all the new season announcements that you won’t want to miss!

Kennedy Center honorees still relish slimmed-down tribute

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors may be a slimmed-down affair as the nation emerges from the coronavirus pandemic — but honoree Dick Van Dyke still says it’s “the capper on my career.”

Wells’ World: Corey Wilkes Melds Chicago Music Past, Present In Documentary Score

“I had to think about the Roaring Twenties and music like Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, and so on, that Ida B. Wells [would have been] hearing.”

Lyric Announces 2021-22 Season With ‘Magic Flute,’ ‘Macbeth,’ Mazzola

A Verdi and bel canto expert, Lyric’s new music director Enrique Mazzola will open the season with Verdi’s Macbeth and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, while also conducting contemporary opera Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli later in the season.

Joffrey Announces 2021-22 Season In First Year At Lyric

From The Nutcracker to Don Quixote be the first to learn about what the Joffrey Ballet’s next season has in store!

Locked out stagehands protest outside Metropolitan Opera

Locked out stagehands of the Metropolitan Opera protested the company amid a crowd of about 1,000 that rallied outside Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, criticizing the company for constructing sets for three of next season’s new productions at nonunion shops.

Muti: Pandemic year silenced culture, leaving world stunned

Conductor Riccardo Muti has once again reopened the Italian musical season in his adopted hometown of Ravenna after another — and if all goes well perhaps final — round of pandemic closures.

Ravinia Returns for 2021 Season

Ravinia Festival is back for 2021 for its 85th concert season, offering up a signature blend of classical, jazz, folk, and rock music performances.

Free Live Music Will Return To Grant Park Music Festival for 2021

The Grant Park Music Festival today announced its return to live music in a 2021 season, the festival’s first live performances since August 2019.

In Return to Stage, CSO To Welcome Audiences for Concerts in May, June

The CSO will return in May and June for a slate of performances, the orchestra’s first since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Chicago stages drive-through Wagner in underground garage

The production is called “Twilight: Gods” and comes a year after Lyric Opera’s production of the complete Ring cycle was scuttled by the pandemic.

Geffen Hall rebuild speeded due to virus, reopen in fall ’22

The plan is now to reopen the auditorium in the fall of 2022, about 1-1/2 years ahead of the original schedule.

Maestro Muti Mentors Chicago Teen Musicians… Virtually

The CSO’s music director made a remote return to the Windy City on Wednesday to lead an online masterclass with fellows from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative.