CHICAGO—When the Suez Canal opened in 1869, it shortened the route between Europe and India, changing the world overnight. Consequently, the Egyptian capital of Cairo became very important. Italian ...

Late in the afternoon on Nov. 10, lights began to dim as a packed audience eagerly waited at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. The Boston Lyric Opera’s staging of the classic opera “Aida,” with music by ...

At a busy repertory company like the Metropolitan Opera there are inevitably interesting nights and not-so-interesting nights, but it’s difficult to recall a performance of such stultifying dullness ...