Classical Music Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: AMERICAN RHAPSODY at Kennedy Center
by David Friscic - May 07, 2025

An evening of the myriad modes of music that constitute the American Experience was celebrated at the Kennedy Center’s production of American Rhapsody. The evening was a rich treasure trove of the glory that is American music from opera, spirituals, modern composers, classic songwriters, and Broadwa...

Review: YUNCHAN LIM STUNS WITH GOLDBERG VARIATIONS at Carnegie Hall
by Peter Danish - May 02, 2025

Yunchan Lim’s performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Carnegie Hall was a masterclass in both technique and emotional depth, showcasing his extraordinary maturity and artistry for such a young performer. From the moment he began, it was clear that Lim was not just playing the piece; he was tell...

Review: The Philadelphia Reveals an Austere Mahler 6 at Carnegie Hall
by Peter Danish - April 21, 2025

On April 15, 2025, The Philadelphia Orchestra, under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, presented Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony at Carnegie Hall in a performance defined by its precision, structural rigor, and interpretive restraint. Rather than indulging in the sweeping romanticism that often ...

Review: FISH OUT OF WATER at Chamber Music Society Of St. Louis
by Steve Callahan - April 15, 2025

A splendid evening of Schubert, Haydn, Satie, de Grignol, and Montgomery...

Review: LSO: MACMILLAN AND SHOSTAKOVICH 12, Barbican Theatre
by Louise Penn - April 04, 2025

Dominated by a new James MacMillan work, and a lively couple of pieces by Shostakovich reflecting on the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, this concert from the LSO, with their Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda and violinist Nicola Benedetti, offered a lively evening of music. Full-blo...

Review: HIGH OCTANE OCTET at Carnegie Hall-Weill Recital Hall
by Joanna Barouch - April 04, 2025

Imagine you are living with your family at your mother-in-law’s house. Imagine you don’t really “work” for a living because you are a composer. But you are very bored.  You mother-in-law takes in boarders, and one day you distinctly hear the sound of two violins playing a duet! ...

Review: INNOCENCE – ADELAIDE FESTIVAL 2025 at Adelaide Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
by Barry Lenny - March 05, 2025

This will be talked about for a long time to come....

Review: THE LONDON SYMPHONY and PIANIST YUNCHAN LIM at San Diego Jacobs Music Center
by Ron Bierman - February 23, 2025

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY PRESENTS THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at San Diego Jacobs Music Center? Standing Ovations showed the audience's appreciation of pianist Yunchan Lim in Rachmaninov's second piano concerto and the orchestra's excellence under conductor Sir Anto...

BWW Review: Columbus Presents a Tour-de-FOURce Production of WEST SIDE STORY
by Christina Mancuso - February 12, 2025

In an unprecedented collaboration, the Columbus Symphony, BalletMet, Opera Columbus, and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) have all joined forces to present West Side Story, the classic forbidden love story and rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks in a mesmerizing fusion of ...

Review: LSO - WALKER, BERNSTEIN AND WALTON, Barbican
by Louise Penn - February 07, 2025

An evening of expressive and emotional music from three great modernist composers is hard to fault as the LSO perform pieces by Walker, Bernstein, and Walton in a powerful Anglo-American programme....

Review: SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PREMIERES A NEW WORK BY BILLY CHILDS at Jacobs Music Center
by Ron Bierman - February 06, 2025

What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY INTRODUCES A WORLD PREMIERE at Jacobs Music Center? Alexander Malofeev was 13 when he won the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians under 18. His technical prowess was exceptional, but his musicality at such a young age ...

Review: MADAMA BUTTERFLY at Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts
by Keira Grant - February 05, 2025

The COC’s 2025 production of this masterpiece seamlessly blends performance practice tradition with a contemporary perspective on the story’s timeless themes....

Review: A FESTIVAL OF LESSONS AND CAROLS at Benaroya Hall
by Erica Miner - December 25, 2024

Ending on a a fervent note, spurring the audience to go forth and enjoy their holidays in the best way possible: with music in their hearts and minds...

Review: The La Jolla Music Society Presents the SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA at The Conrad
by Ron Bierman - December 18, 2024

What did our critic think of THE LA JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY PRESENTS THE SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA at The Conrad? The La Jolla Music Society has featured exceptional musicians in many genres over the years. Best known for staging classical concerts, since the opening of its intimate home at the Conrad th...

Review: San Diego Symphony Perform Richard Strauss and Shostakovich at The Jacobs Music Center
by Ron Bierman - December 13, 2024

This year’s final subscription concert at the new Jacobs Music Center began with Richard Strauss’s tone poem Don Juan and ended with his equally familiar Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. In between, Inon Barnatan was featured in two 20th Century piano concertos by Dimitri Shostakovich. The usual p...

Review: SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN'S CHORUS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR 2024 at Sydney Goldstein Theater
by Steve Murray - December 07, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN'S CHORUS HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR 2024 at Sydney Goldstein Theater?...

Review: Yunchan Lim And The New York Philharmonic Perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2
by Peter Danish - December 06, 2024

What did our critic think of YUNCHAN LIM AND THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ENCHANT WITH CHOPIN’S PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2 at Geffen Hall?...

Review: MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 1 at Benaroya Hall
by Erica Miner - November 17, 2024

Both monumental works were perfectly matched in their brashness and sensitivity, helmed and rendered with great panache by two outstanding young artists: a program to delight all tastes...

Review: STRAUSS AND SIBELIUS at the NY Philharmonic
by Peter Danish - November 16, 2024

What did our critic think of STRAUSS AND SIBELIUS AT THE NY PHILHARMONIC at Geffen Hall?...

Review: STRIKE UP THE BAND! at Carnegie Hall
by Joanna Barouch - November 12, 2024

Musical gems buried in a mind-numbing story...

Review: SAN DIEGO OPERA PRESENTS LA BOHÈME at San Diego Civic Center
by Ron Bierman - November 06, 2024

What did our critic think of SAN DIEGO OPERA PRESENTS LA BOHÈME at San Diego Civic Center? San Diego Opera celebrated the opening of its 60th season with Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème, the same opera the company staged to open its first season. Its magnificent melodies, a touchingly tragic love story...

Review: SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY PERFORMS MENDELSSOHN, BRUCH AND TCHAIKOVSKY at the Jacobs Music Center
by Ron Bierman - November 01, 2024

The music that people enjoy the most, whether they are fans of classical or hip hop, is music that evokes emotion. The San Diego Symphony under guest conductor Antonio Méndez took note of that with a concert of proven favorites, Mendelssohn’s Ruy Blas Overture, Bruch’s first violin concerto, and Tch...

Review: FIDELIO at Kennedy Center
by David Friscic - October 28, 2024

The Washington National Opera’s production of Beethoven’s Fidelio is a triumph of elegant, efficient style and directorial finesse. Director Francesca Zambello re-invigorates the somewhat uninspired libretto by Joesph Von Sonnleithner with a vigor and intelligence that envelops this tale of valor, c...

Review: The Philadelphia Orchestra Delivers a Monumental Mahler 3 at Carnegie
by Peter Danish - October 25, 2024

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance of Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 3 aCarnegie Hall on October 15th was an unforgettable evening of rich musical storytelling. Under the dynamic direction of Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the orchestra captured the emotional breadth and technical demands of ...

Review: RENÉE FLEMING AND THE NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at Kennedy Center
by Elliot Lanes - October 21, 2024

With the size of theatrical orchestras being drastically cut, one of the few places left to hear a full string section is at a symphonic concert. What better symphony is there than YOUR National Symphony Orchestra (NSO)?...