The conviction of the pianist and composer Fazil Say for blasphemy over a series of Twitter messages has drawn outrage from human rights campaigners and many media outlets.

Florence's Maggio Musicale has suffered bombings, floods, managerial inattention and political maneuvering. But recent austerity measures in Italy are especially damaging, writes Fred Plotkin.

Caroline Shaw, a New York-based graduate student, has won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for music for her Partita for 8 Voices.

The ages-old plea, “Let my people go,” took on immediate meaning when Rossini’s Moses in Egypt had concluded its second act and the Israelites were still captive, writes David Patrick Stearns.

For "Mad Men" viewers anticipating that a shift to 1968 in Season Six would bring a fresh batch of counter-cultural references, the show’s creators have so far managed to thwart any such expectations.

Isabel Leonard, a mezzo-soprano from New York City, has won this year’s Richard Tucker Award, given annually to a promising American opera singer.

Colin Davis, the president of the London Symphony Orchestra and that orchestra’s longest-serving conductor, died Sunday at age 85 after a short illness.

Members of one of the classical music world's most celebrated orchestras will perform Sunday behind bars. Looking on will be celebrated conductor, Riccardo Muti.

There’s a new organization designed to serve New York City’s small, grassroots opera companies and their fans.

This Sunday, New York City Opera will perform at City Center on West 55th street for the first time since 1965. The homecoming happens as the company looks to forge a new identity.

Montserrat Caballé turns 80 on Friday. Fred Plotkin considers the famed soprano – a sublime bel canto singer, dignified Tosca, notorious canceler and duet partner to Jose Carreras.

Forty years after it became the first U.S. orchestra to visit China, the Philadelphia Orchestra is planning to go back with a new tour and new program.

Opera fans are lurking among the student body at Columbia University, writes Fred Plotkin. "Opera companies would be wise to cultivate Columbia students for future audiences."

When the soprano Natalie Dessay dropped out before Tuesday night’s performance of Giulio Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera, the company didn’t have to look far for a replacement.

Former Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum joined cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to increase funding for the arts in a year of deep federal budget cuts.

Viewers can always count on Betty to supply some of the weirder, darker subplots on “Mad Men,” and the season six premiere Sunday night did not disappoint.

Tired of grumbling about economic austerity? Maybe it's time to sing about it.

"Reaching the end of Giulio Cesare at its opening night wasn't just a matter of taking in four-plus hours of Handel’s greatest arias, but navigating stories within stories," writes David Patrick Stearns.

A violinist is accusing a Manhattan violin dealer of losing her 1837 violin while it was on consignment – by giving it out for trial to someone who never returned – according to a lawsuit.

Fans often express their frustration with opera administrators, writes Fred Plotkin. But just as influential, in most cases, are the boards that govern opera companies and provide a large part of the money.