Angel Azzarra (Tragedy), Jonathan Woody (Apollo), and Paulina Francisco (Comedy) in Mouret’s Les Fêtes de Thalie for Opera Lafayette. Photo: Jennifer Packard Photography The opéra-ballet is a quintessentially French genre, most popular in the 18th century. Equal parts dance and sung drama, it leaned toward comedy more than its main rival, the tragédie lyrique. One such work, Jean-Joseph Mouret’s Les Fêtes de Thalie, enjoyed a few decades of performances after its 1714 premiere and then disappeared, until Opera Lafayette revived it Friday night, in a charming staging at the Kennedy Center Ter ..read more

Conductor Manfred Honeck. Photo: Felix Broede Ever since Manfred Honeck last conducted the National Symphony Orchestra, in 2020, hopes for his return to the podium have been high. The Austrian conductor, in his sixteenth season as music director of the PIttsburgh Symphony Orchestra, has had his contract there extended through the 2027-2028 season. The NSO musicians sounded quite happy to welcome him back Thursday night for an evening of Beethoven and Bruckner in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. The Overture to Fidelio, the last one Beethoven composed (Op. 72b) for this opera, opened the conc ..read more

Conductor Simon Rattle. Photo: Astrid Ackermann The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has entered a new era this season with their new music director, Simon Rattle. This esteemed orchestra last visited Washington in 2016, under the baton of Rattle’s predecessor, the late Mariss Jansons. Washington Performing Arts brought them back to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall Tuesday night, for the second stop of a four-city American tour that opened Sunday in Chicago. Rattle elicited a rich and expressive sound in the opening of the Act I Prelude to Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, with a throbbing sense ..read more

Marc-André Hamelin played Ives’ “Concord” Sonata at the Library of Congress Friday night. Photo: WCR Every few years, for a couple of decades now, Marc-André Hamelin has appeared in the area with a new program of unexpected and often astoundingly difficult music. The streak continued Friday night when the Canadian-born virtuoso gave a daring recital at the Library of Congress, centered on one of the pinnacles of the 20th century, the Piano Sonata No. 2 (“Concord, Mass., 1840-60”) of Charles Ives. Hamelin has recorded the “Concord” Sonata twice, both times at astonishing tempi. To hear him pl ..read more

The Dover Quartet and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes performed Tuesday night at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Photo: WCR The Dover Quartet has had an unsettled couple of years, since violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt stepped down in 2022. Hezekiah Leung took her place for the 2022-2023 season, only to be himself replaced by Julianne Lee last fall.  The chance to hear the new formation came Tuesday night, when they appeared in a program with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, presented by the Fortas Chamber Music Concerts series in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Or rather, it would have bee ..read more

Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey will perform in Vocal Arts DC’s 2024-25 season. Photo: Daniel Welch Vocal Arts DC has announced its lineup for the 2024-25 season with five distinguished singers performing recitals in the venerable series. Baritone Lucas Meachem—who recently sang the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—will open the series September 12 with his wife, pianist Irina Meachem. The program will feature Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, and American art songs by William Grant Still, Florence Price, and Jake Heggie. Tenor Lunga Eric Hallam, a noted exponen ..read more

Randall Scarlata, baritone Gilbert Kalish, pianist Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin 12:30 p.m. Hopkins Bloomberg Center Free admission April 25 WNO Cafritz Young Artists Tiffany Choe, soprano Kresley Figueroa, soprano Teresa Perrotta, soprano Winona Martin, mezzo-soprano Cecelia McKinley, contralto Justin Burgess, baritone Jonathan Patton, baritone Sergio Martínez, bass Pei-Hsuan Lin, pianist Opera selections 7 p.m. Kreeger Museum April 26 Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra Chamber music selections 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Free admission Marc-André Hamelin, pianist Hamelin: New wo ..read more

Jennifer Johnson Cano performed Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with David Chan conducting the Apollo Orchestra on Sunday. Photo: Shalev “Stan” Weinstein The Apollo Orchestra continues its season split between two conductors. David Neely led two performances last fall, ceding the baton to David Chan this spring. Chan, one of the concertmasters of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, made the strongest showing in opera selections in his stand with the orchestra last season. The results this time around were much the same, as heard Sunday afternoon at Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church. Julie Vidrick Eva ..read more

Harpsichordist Lillian Gordis performed Saturday night for Capriccio Baroque. Photo: CB Lillian Gordis is becoming a Capriccio Baroque fixture. The American-born harpsichordist, who accompanied gambist Jérôme Hantaï last season, returned to Washington Saturday night at Live at 10th and G. This was her second solo recital on the series, postponed from last October. Her two-fold theme highlighted counterpoint and the distant harmonic territories connected by enharmonic spellings, such as the equivalence of A-flat and G-sharp. The programming combined music of two different periods and regions ..read more

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performed Mendelssohn’s String Quintet No. 2 Friday night at Wolf Trap. Photo: WCR Take five or six string players, add pieces for a few different combinations, culminating in a work for all of them. A simple enough recipe that Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has used before. The scheme yielded delicious results from a string quintet in the final CMS program to come to northern Virginia this season, heard Friday evening on the chamber music series in the Barns at Wolf Trap, curated by pianist Wu Han. Two string trios opened the concert, a c ..read more