The Prosecutor has asked a Moscow court to sentence director Kirill Serebrennikov to six years in prison on embezzlement charges he denies. At a hearing in Moscow, the prosecutor’s office also demanded a fine of 800,000 roubles (€ 10,200), according to an AFP journalist present at the court. Sentences ranging from four to five years in prison were also sought against three of Serebrennikov’s collaborators. Read More →

Following the release of the government’s guidelines for health and safety standards in the performing arts, the Montreal Opera has postponed the production of two large-scale works, La Traviata and Jenufa, each of which involves over 200 artists and other professionals. Read More →

Das zu Bertelsmann gehörende Mailänder Ricordi-Archiv, in dem Schätze aus 200 Jahren italienischer Operngeschichte lagern, kündigt sechs Online-Events an. Read More →

After the scheduled Glyndebourne Festival 2020 at the auditorium was cancelled, the organizer has announced plans to reopen for a series of open-air operas and concerts this summer, allowing audiences to return with social distancing measures in place. Read More →

The young conductor and violinist Christopher Quentin McMullen-Laird died June 18th of an as yet unclear but rapidly progressing medical issue, as his website says. Read More →

Der ehemalige Rektor der Münchner Musikhochschule und des Salzburger Mozarteums, Siegfried Mauser, hätte seit Jahresbeginn seine Haftstrafe in Landsberg am Lech absitzen müssen, zu der er im Mai 2018 wegen sexueller Nötigung in drei Fällen verurteilt worden war. Die Gesamtfreiheitsstrafe beläuft sich auf zwei Jahre und neun Monate. Read More →

Das Plattenlabel Orfeo International feiert sein 40-jähriges Bestehen. Mit der Veröffentlichung der ersten von vier geplanten 10-CD-Jubiläumsboxen erinnert Orfeo an herausragende Aufnahmen legendärer Dirigenten. Read More →

The Carnegie Hall announced the cancellation of all events through January 6, 2021. « Given current social-distancing protocols related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we had no other option but to extend the Hall’s closure until health conditions improve », the news release says.

During the lockdown, about 11 thousand performances and concerts were cancelled in Moscow, Alexander Kibovsky, head of the department of culture of the Russian capital, said in a TV interview on channel Moscow 24. He said that the theatre season ended unexpectedly in March, theatres and concert halls losing about 12 weeks of performances.

Der Norddeutsche Rundfunk NDR hat gestern auf die Befürchtungen der Deutschen Orchestervereinigung reagiert, der NDR-Chor und die Big Band könnten Sparmaßnahmen zum Opfer fallen. (Pizzicato-Bericht). Read More →