Alan Gilbert Conducts the Verdi Requiem

Featuring soprano Angela Meade, mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, tenor Russell Thomas, and bass-baritone Eric Owens.

Grace Bumbry, 1st Black singer at Bayreuth, dies at 86

Bumbry was among the winners of the 1958 Met National Council Auditions. She had a recital debut in Paris that same year and made her Paris Opéra debut in 1960.

Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Season: Dutchman, Aida, Cinderella, Audra

Next year’s lineup of six mainstage operas offers choices for traditional and contemporary opera fans alike.

Verdi’s La traviata

Dazzling soprano Angel Blue stars as Violetta in Verdi‘s stirring romantic tragedy. Nicola Luisotti conducts the Met Opera Orchestra and Dmytro Popov (Alfredo) and Artur Ruciński (Giorgio).

On Singing Verdi with Russell Thomas

A survey of great tenors known for their interpretations of Verdi. Russell Thomas stars the title role Verdi’s Ernani which opens the 2022-23 season of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Vote: What Are YOUR Top 10 Works by Verdi?

With a composer with as many beloved works as Giuseppe Verdi, how do you know where to start? What should you listen to next? We want to know what you think.

Verdi’s ‘Don Carlos’ arrives at Met Opera in original French

The version is largely based on the 1867 rehearsals and Paris Opéra premiere, including long-lost sections rediscovered in the late 1960s by David Rosen and Andrew Porter.

Lyric’s ’22-23 Season: Verdi, ‘Fiddler,’ Fleming, & ‘Carmen’

Plus a world premiere, Chicago-set take on ‘The Barber of Seville’ and the return of ‘West Side Story’

CSO Announces Winter/Spring 2022 Concerts

Music director Riccardo Muti will conduct music by Beethoven, Price, Glass, and Montgomery while welcoming guest artists like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Mitsuko Uchida.

Enrique Mazzola on Returning to the Stage, Taking the Reins at Lyric

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.

Met’s 9/11 Anniversary: Music Can Help Mend Wounds of 20 Years Ago and Today

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.

Prokofiev, Hahn, Lang Lang Headline CSO’s 2021-22 Return To Stage

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

Born to Conduct: Film charts Met music director’s ascent

A new documentary charts the rise of Metropolitan Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin from a school stage to chief conductor at one of the world’s great opera houses.

Playlist: Soprano Ailyn Pérez Shares the Music and Singers Close to Her Heart

Chicago native soprano Ailyn Pérez speaks to us about some of her favorite Latin American and Spanish music and shares a playlist of influential singers and music.

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.

‘A rose for love and a book forever’: Literature for Music Lovers on World Book Day

WFMT host Candice Agree has selected some of her favorite works of literature that have inspired musical compositions for you to enjoy on World Book Day.

Verdi’s Got Game: Rigoletto’s Got All the Right Moves

Could this ‘Rigoletto’-inspired video game be help bring kids into opera?

Opera Is a “Contact Sport” in the Lost 1963 Documentary ‘In the Mouth of the Wolf’

Audiences will be irate this weekend at the Siskel Center. No, not the people in the theater, but the onscreen audiences portrayed in In the Mouth of the Wolf. The made-for-TV documentary depicts the infamously fanatical opera culture of Parma, Italy through the lens of a troubled production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller.

Enrique Mazzola on Being Lyric’s Next Music Director and Why ‘Luisa Miller’ Is Essential Verdi

“You have to know that I am a very curious musician…” said Enrique Mazzola, wearing his trademark red glasses. In September, the Italian conductor was appointed Lyric Opera of Chicago’s music director designate.

Playlist: What Makes a Verdi Baritone? Sherrill Milnes and Quinn Kelsey Explain

There are baritones, and then there are Verdi baritones. They are the elite performers, athletes among baritones, thrilling their fans with blazing top notes and plumbing the depths of some of the most dramatically complex roles in opera.

Marcello Giordani, tenor of beauty and heft, dies at 56

Giordani had a heart attack at his home in Sicily.

Domingo withdraws from Met Opera after harassment reports

The opera legend indicated that he would never again perform at the Met.

Finding the Details in Grand Opera: Muti, CSO, and CSO Chorus Present Verdi’s ‘Aida’

Verdi’s Aida is the apotheosis of grant opera, but the true beauty of Verdi lies not only in its grandeur but also in its details.

Classical Music Grammy Award Winners: 2019

On February 10, some of the biggest names in the music industry convened at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles. R&B and soul singer Alicia Keys hosted the ceremony, as winners were announced in 30 fields and 84 categories. Here are the nominees and winners for the classical music categories.

Carl Grapentine’s 10 Favorite Musical Performances During His 32 Years in Chicago

Looking back on his many years experiencing great music in Chicago, Carl shares some of his very favorite performances.