Lloyd Schwartz

Widely considered the greatest singing actor in opera history, Callas died in 1977 at the age of 53. Now, several new releases celebrate both her singing and her acting.

Verdi imagined each of his operas painted with a different tincture. Conductor Riccardo Chailly puts together an exciting new album of Verdi's choruses, from his best known to his most obscure.

This set features excerpts from most of Flemming's 26 roles at the NYC Met. Fleming's studio recordings have always captured her lovely voice; these live recordings prove her magic on the stage.

In 1909, the Russian impresario came to Paris and created a sensation with a company he called the Ballets Russes. A new 22-disc set revisits the music of Diaghilev's legendary ballets.

On the occasion of what would have been Garland's 100th birthday, Warner Bros. has been re-issuing her films on Blu-Ray; classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the most recent release.

Though he never became a household name, many music lovers regard Szigeti, who died in 1973, as the greatest classical violinist in living memory. This new collection captures his early recordings.

In 1970, Stephen Sondheim's comic musical Company broke most of the conventions of American musical theater. Now, a newly restored documentary goes inside the making of the original cast album.

Herrmann composed some of the best-known film music ever written — especially the scores he wrote for Alfred Hitchcock. Now a new CD shows another side of Herrmann that's equally memorable.

A new installment of the PBS series American Experience centers on the legendary Black contralto, her extraordinary artistry and the important place she holds in the civil rights movement.

Price, now 93, was the first African American soprano to have a major career at the Metropolitan Opera. Critics and fans agreed that she had one of the most beautiful singing voices they'd ever heard.

Fitzgerald's warm, yet ultra-cool voice was at the opposite pole of jazz singing from Armstrong's gravelly growl. There's absolutely no reason their voices should blend so effortlessly — but they do.

Two new CDs of serious music feels just right: Johnny Gandelsman plays violin transcriptions of Bach's Complete Cello Suites, and Kate Lindsey sings arias by Handel, Haydn, and Scarlatti on Arianna.

Ellen West, a new one-act chamber opera presented by Opera Saratoga, is based on a tragic poem by Frank Bidart, while Poul Ruders' The Thirteenth Child draws on Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

Maria by Callas weaves together performance clips, home movies, interviews and poignant diary excepts to present an intimate portrait of the singer in her own words.

Choreographer Bob Fosse and dancer Gwen Verdon light things up in this recently reissued movie version of the musical Damn Yankees. It was the only time the pair danced together on the big screen.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra's 2017 performance of Ferruccio Busoni's monumental concerto met all the composer's impossible demands. A new live recording of the event is both serious and fabulous.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reads a poem about his late mother, who had Alzheimer's Disease. Schwartz's latest collection is Little Kisses.

Deveau and the Borromeo String Quartet perform piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven as chamber music on a new recording. Lloyd Schwartz says the album is "full of feeling and discovery."

John Adams' opera, which premiered in 2005, centers on the first atomic bomb test at Los Alamos, N.M. Now, a new album features a recording of Doctor Atomic conducted by the composer himself.

The legendary frontman plays all the characters in a new recording of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale. Critic Lloyd Schwartz calls it a seriously enjoyable addition to the Stravinsky catalogue.