Christine Goerke is an earth-shattering Elektra in David Robertson’s revelatory take on Strauss’ Greek tragedy. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

SSO teams up with Credit Suisse to offer unique opportunities to talented youngsters. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Wagnerian soprano who thought she'd never sing again is looking at a fuller diary than ever.

A cracking inaugural concert gives the Robertson era the look of a potential age of gold. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Mutter and mates achieve a classy, collegiate intimacy with grace and style. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Sydney Symphony Orchestra accompany Godfrey Reggio's reflective follow-up to his Qatsi Trilogy.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra's potted Ring cycle is essential viewing for newbies and veterans alike.

Paul Stanhope’s commission will examine one of the few cases of organised resistance to white settlement. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

New Chief Conductor’s inaugural season goes back to basis with Beethoven, Brahms and a handful of big guns. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Strange as it may seem now, Prokofiev’s most famous ballet had a particularly painful birth. The Soviet director Adrian Piotrovsky suggested a ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy to the composer in 1935, but the Bolshoi pronounced the finished work “undanceable”. The Kirov agreed to stage Romeo and Juliet (complete with happy ending!) but plans were rapidly shelved after the dramaturge
 was denounced in the Pravda article Balletic Falsehood. It was his libretto for Shostakovich’s ballet The Limpid Stream that 
had offended. Piotrovsky was arrested and shot the following year – a definite nadir for the arts in Stalin’s Russia. The revised version (now with acceptable tragic ending) didn’t see the light of day until 1940, when the Bolshoi turned out to be able to dance it after all. Since then it has conquered the world, danced by the likes of Fonteyn and Nureyev. The three suites are regular concert items. Sydney Symphony chief Vladimir Ashkenazy clearly identifies strongly with the work, having recorded it for Decca
 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ten years ago. He rightly treats it as Prokofiev’s most elevated piece – sincere, emotional and unflagging in its inspiration. So how does the new CD stack up? On…

The Sydney Symphony announce a 2013 three city Russian tour. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Thoughts on the premature demise of an ensemble whose grand dreams were dashed against the rocks of financial reality. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in