The Vargas Blog

Last Saturday, March 19, Symphony Space celebrated composer Stephen Sondheim's 75th birthday with a gigantic marathon of the composer...

On Saturday night, I went to the MET to hear my first Der Rosenkavalier . After almost thirty years of attending opera, I had never gone to ...

At the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the new production of Parsifal , which premiered on March 19, was greeted with roars of boos from...

The roster of works and performers for the Metropolitan Opera's 2005-2006 season has just been posted on the MET's new website . The...

The new production of Tristan und Isolde that is currently in preparation at the Bastille Opéra in Paris is the culmination of "The Tr...

Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" an installation that was in the works for two decades, and which captivated New York C...

While New York City suffers through an unbearable Wagner dearth, The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden is basking in the glory of its new pro...

Sad, sad news: if you currently Image Google the word Constantine , your first hit will be a still showing Keanu Reeves, as renegade occulti...

Does Chris Rock's rude and irreverent view of the world qualify him to host film's most prestigious gala event? Should his race-obse...

This weekend will be my final two performances of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms with the New York City Ballet, at the New York ...

In a coincidental phenomenon, stemming from the lore of urban legend, and usually associated with show-business, the world lost three of its...

One of the great writers of the 1960's "Boom" generation, Guillermo Cabrera-Infante , died in London this week. The blood of t...

Florence has Ghiberti's "The Gates of Paradise," Paris has Rodin's "The Gates of Hell" (we had them for a few mo...

The Great White Way is not necessarily the first place where you would look if you are on the quest for the Holy Grail, (it's certainly ...

Marcello Viotti, the famed musical director of Venice's La Fenice Opera House, died Wednesday night at a German hospital after falling i...

The following information was taken from the Bavarian Broadcasting Classic Website: "Last week, Marcello Viotti, the former Chief Condu...

While the major opera venues of New York City are currently dormant when it comes to Richard Wagner, the composer's music is thriving in...

The works of Richard Wagner have usually been a staple of Springtime in New York City. As the weather turns warmer, the days grow longer, an...

My love affair with the Bayreuth Festival hasn't gotten off the ground yet, and already it appears that Cupid has misfired his arrows. L...

For long-time fans of the Metropolitan Opera Saturday broadcasts, the names Alberta Masiello, Robert Jacobson, Boris Goldovsky, and Edward D...