Opera company directors often speak of a need for fresh theatrical values. But as Fred Plotkin writes, "'fresh values' only work if the director is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about opera."

To round out its first season away from Lincoln Center, New York City Opera has unveiled Telemann's Orpheus. Blogger Olivia Giovetti traveled to Spanish Harlem to hear the results.

The Brooklyn-born illustrator and author Maurice Sendak also made his mark in classical music. He talks about his favorite pieces in a 1981 interview on WQXR.

After a dire financial crisis and a season roving the city's boroughs, New York City Opera will set down roots for its 2012-13 season, presenting two productions at City Center in midtown Manhattan.

"In his own way, Alden has created his own unsolvable enigma with his Così," writes Olivia Giovetti. Read on for her review of the director's take on Mozart's wife-swapping classic, now playing at City Opera.

Here’s a closer look at the different ways in which they are marketing their first seasons on the road.

Commissioned by the Met and then dropped four years ago, Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna opened Sunday in a performance by the beleaguered New York City Opera. Blogger Olivia Giovetti gives her review.

With City Opera at BAM during the house's 150th anniversary, Olivia Giovetti takes a look at the Academy's longstanding relationship with opera, and notes that BAM often beat its Lincoln Center counterparts to the punch.

City Opera has unveiled its comeback performance of La traviata. Blogger Olivia Giovetti asks whether or not this will sustain the company or if it will succumb to its fiscal consumption.

New York City Opera's orchestra has approved a three-year contract deal, days after announcing it had reached a tentative agreement with the company's management.

After months of rancorous negotiations, New York City Opera and its unions have reached a tentative contract agreement, allowing the 2012 season to proceed.

"The beauty of New York is that there is no shortage of opera," writes blogger Olivia Giovetti, who looks at the multitude of boutique companies giving performances in New York over the next two weeks.

New York City Opera's musicians say that the cash-strapped company wants to cut their salary to $5,000 annually. The company counters that the musicians would actually earn $11,855.

The unions representing New York City Opera's orchestra and chorus say they won’t be showing up for the scheduled start of rehearsals on Monday morning after talks with a federal mediator broke down Saturday night.

Blogger Olivia Giovetti reflects on the abrupt closing of Opera Boston and the precedent it sets for the similarly-beleaguered New York City Opera.

Nearly a week after declaring an impasse in negotiations with its orchestra and chorus, New York City Opera is looking into getting a federal mediator involved.

New York City Opera has declared an impasse in negotiations with the unions representing its orchestra and chorus, with the two sides unable to reach an agreement on wages and benefits.

In 1992, soprano Beverly Sills was a guest on The Vocal Scene, a show hosted by George Jellinek that ran on WQXR for 36 years. Listen to the full show and watch our panel's response.

New York's eccentric Shriner's hall turned performing arts venue has undergone a major renovation. On Tuesday audiences can see the results.