Georgia Rowe

Aida isn't Verdi's longest, or most ambitious, opera, yet it's become the opera most often associated with big productions.

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra opened its 28th season in an amorous frame of mind last weekend in Berkeley.

At first glance, The Bonesetter's Daughter seems unlikely source material for an opera. Amy Tan's 2001 novel spans two continents and three generations, encompassing contemporary American life, ancient Chinese myth, ghost stories, family secrets, and the search for personal identity.

Santa Fe Opera is presenting its first Billy Budd this season. The company, which was founded just five years after Benjamin Britten premiered the first version of the opera in 1951, waited an inexplicable five decades to stage this haunting 20th-century masterpiece.

The third annual Festival del Sole came to an impressive conclusion Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under its dynamic new music director, Jaap van Zweden, performing an all-Mahler program capped by a forceful, streamlined performance of the composer's Symphony No.

Il trovatore isn’t Verdi’s most popular or frequently performed work, but for many opera lovers (this reviewer included) it’s always been impossible to resist.

The summer music season has arrived and, as always, there’s no shortage of worthy events in and around the Bay Area.

It’s been a great month for Donizetti aficionados in the Bay Area.

Judging by the programming choices of many of our major musical institutions, choral music belongs strictly to the past. Fortunately, forward-thinking music lovers can always turn to Volti.

It’s fitting that Ruth Ann Swenson should celebrate the 25th anniversary of her operatic debut with a return to San Francisco Opera. The soprano’s illustrious career, which has taken her to opera houses around the world, got its start here with the company she calls “home.” This month, the company plans to honor Swenson in style. In a special ceremony on July 6, S.F.