A Conductor Who Wants to Put You ‘Inside the Sound’
Maxime Pascal, a latecomer to classical music, forged an unusual path to the podium that has paid off for him and for audiences.
The Ups and Downs of the Aix-en-Provence Festival
Not everything was an artistic or audience success at the 75th Aix-en-Provence Festival in France. But everything was worth discussing.
At the Aix Festival, Premieres in Pursuit of Happiness
Two works at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, by two inventive partnerships in opera, use fables to explore grief and queer utopian dreams.
At Glamorous French Festivals, Poverty is Only Onstage
The opening productions of the Avignon and Aix-en-Provence Festivals brought tales of the down-and-out to well-heeled spectators. It got awkward.
An Opera Partnership’s Next Step: A Fable About Happiness
George Benjamin and Martin Crimp, who collaborated on modern successes including “Written on Skin,” return with the one-act “Picture a Day Like This.”
Best Classical Music Performances of 2022
The concert world, seemingly back to normal, saw Ukrainian musicians banding together, a new “Ring” at Bayreuth, and the opening of the revamped David Geffen Hall.
A Behind-the-Scenes Eminence Shapes a Festival’s Future
Pierre Audi, the artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory, is coming into his own as the leader of the Aix-en-Provence Festival in France.
At This Summer’s Aix Festival, the Only Laughter Is Bitter
With two grim premieres among the offerings, Monteverdi’s sharp “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” was the highlight of a week of opera.
At the Opera, Humans Bear Witness to Atrocity, or Ignore It
Whether in works by Mahler, Mozart or Rossini, directors at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in France evoke mass death and refugee crises.