SALZBURG, Austria — Offbeat operas have been some of the Salzburg Festival’s best in recent years, the latest a colorful, outlandish and entertaining staging of Sergei Prokofiev’s “The Gambler” by director Peter Sellars. Starring soprano Asmik Grigorian as Polina and tenor Sean Panikkar as Alexei, the 125-minute work was met with enthusiastic applause when it … Read more
BAYREUTH, Germany — Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson’s phone rang in his Icelandic highlands cabin back in January 2022. Katharina Wagner, the Bayreuth festival director and great-granddaughter of composer Richard Wagner, wanted to get in touch. She invited Arnarsson to create a new production of “Tristan und Isolde” to open the 2024 festival. He listened to Carlos … Read more
A capacity crowd of about 10,000 people braved heat and humidity to witness the 70th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, one of the largest music festivals in New England NEWPORT, R.I. — A capacity crowd of about 10,000 people braved heat and humidity to witness the 70th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival, one … Read more
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The 1975 is being sued after Matty Healy’s kiss of a bandmate in an on-stage protest shut down a music festival last year in Malaysia. Healy used profanities as he criticized Malaysia’s stance against homosexuality before kissing bassist Ross MacDonald during the band’s headline performance at the Good Vibes Festival in … Read more
Lorrie Moore, Attica Locke and Edwidge Danticat will be among hundreds of writers attending this September’s Brooklyn Book Festival, for years one of the literary world’s most anticipated gatherings NEW YORK — Lorrie Moore, Attica Locke and Edwidge Danticat will be among hundreds of writers attending this September’s Brooklyn Book Festival, for years one of … Read more
KYIV, Ukraine — This year, Ukraine’s largest music festival struck a different chord. Gone were the international headliners, the massive performance halls and the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Instead, beloved local artists graced the stage this past weekend at the Atlas Festival — the first since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 — for … Read more
LOS ANGELES — The Sundance Institute on Friday announced six finalists in its search for a new host location for the influential film festival. After 40 years in Park City, Utah, the festival is eyeing locations across the country for festivals starting in 2027 when its existing contract will be up for renewal. The snowy … Read more
NEW YORK — Blackpink rapper Lisa will join the Global Citizen Festival lineup in New York’s Central Park for her first solo performance at a festival, the anti-poverty nonprofit announced Tuesday. Lisa joins headliners Post Malone, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll and Raouw Alejandro for the Sept. 28 event, adding to organizers’ plans to attract younger … Read more
NEW ORLEANS — For 30 years, the Essence Festival of Culture has brought together people from all walks of life and from around the world to connect through conversation, shared experiences and, of course, music. The nation’s largest annual celebration of Black culture was set to end Sunday with musical performances by Janet Jackson and … Read more
NEW ORLEANS — Seven years ago, New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas squeezed into the corner of a classroom and recorded themselves performing their song “Quick,” for National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk contest, the nonprofit’s annual search for the “next great undiscovered artist.” Their video — a lively mix of funk, soul, hip-hop and … Read more
