The eminent Italian conductor Riccardo Muti was born on 28 July 1941. His operatic debut in 1966 led to a rapid rise in reputation. In 1977 he conducted at Covent Garden, assumed directorship of the New Philharmonia Orchestra, and became Principal Guest Conductor to the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Ensemble. Paths of Excellence - Giuseppe Pennisi reports via live stream on the Ravenna Festival Mozart/Da Ponte Trilogy
Ensemble. A Revolutionary Score - Giuseppe Pennisi was in the audience for Verdi's 'Ernani', back in Rome
Ensemble. Welcome Back, Puritani - Giuseppe Pennisi was in the audience, in Rome, for Bellini's last great masterpiece
Ensemble. Questionable Stage Direction - Giuseppe Pennisi reviews Riccardo Muti's 'Così fan tutte' at Teatro Regio di Torino
Classical music news. November 2020 Newsletter - 'Time and Space', Classical Music Daily's November 2020 Newsletter, has just been published, along with an assortment of short news items
Classical music news - Muti Returns to Palermo - Riccardo Muti will be back in Palermo for three concerts and will be granted freedom of the city
Ensemble. A Miracle in Ravenna - Giuseppe Pennisi reports from a modified Ravenna Festival
Drastically Revised - Giuseppe Pennisi looks at the detail of the replanned 2020 Salzburg Festival
Ensemble. An Autumn Trilogy - 'Norma', 'Aida' and 'Carmen' in Ravenna, reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. On the High and Open Sea - Giuseppe Pennisi samples Italy's 2019 Ravenna Summer Festival
Ensemble. A Double Melodrama - Giuseppe Pennisi was at Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut', performed under difficult conditions in Rome
Ensemble. Intergenerational Conflict - Giuseppe Pennisi attended a successful performance of Verdi's 'Ernani' in Rome
Ensemble. A Rich Musical Season - Summer opera in Rome, heard by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. Cosmic Pessimism - Verdi's rarely performed 'I Due Foscari', experienced by Giuseppe Pennisi
Psychological Evolution - 'Simon Boccanegra' in Rome impresses Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. Eros and the Almighty - Giuseppe Pennisi visits the 2012 Ravenna Festival
Ensemble. Musical Credibility - Giuseppe Pennisi was at the opening night of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma's production of Verdi's 'Attila'
Ensemble. A Triumphant Macbeth - Under Riccardo Muti's baton, Verdi's first Shakespearean opera inaugurates Rome's opera season, by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. Lasting Magic - Giuseppe Pennisi was at the Italian premiere in Ravenna of Mercadante's 'I Due Figaro'
Ensemble. Simple and Effective - A new production of Verdi's 'Nabucco' celebrates the 150th anniversary of Italy's Unification, reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. A Difficult Cocktail - Rossini's 'Moïse et Pharaon', assessed by Giuseppe Pennisi
Ensemble. An Epic Opera - Rossini's 'William Tell', from Rome to the BBC Proms, by Giuseppe Pennisi
Heroes Step Up in Crisis - The Muti era lays claim to Chicago, by Barbara Sealock
Ensemble. When God and Man Collide - Giuseppe Pennisi visits the Salzburg Festival to investigate 'the downfall of the myth and the spirit of the music'
Ensemble. Darkness to Light - Giuseppe Pennisi visits the Ravenna Festival
Ensemble. The Devil and the Bourgeoisie - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to Arrigo Boito's 'Mefistofele'
Ensemble. Disillusioning in All its Grandeur - New York Metropolitan Opera's current production of Giuseppe Verdi's 'Attila' elicits a mixed reaction from Rebecca Schmid
A Labour of Love - John Suchet's 'The Treasures of Beethoven', read by Howard Smith
DVD Spotlight. A Telling Moment - Poulenc's 'Dialogues des Carmélites', appreciated by Robert Anderson. '... finely expressed ...'
DVD Spotlight. Capital Comedy - 'Don Pasquale' enjoyed by Robert Anderson. 'The cast is admirable ...'
DVD Spotlight. Original groupings - Verdi's 'Don Carlo', reviewed by Robert Anderson. 'The chief glory ... is Zeffirelli's staging.'
Ensemble. Devotion and heroism - Ted and Emi Norrish enjoy a musical weekend in Munich