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Elina Garanca Defends Opera Amid Digital Age Challenges

This is Beirut, 13:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Elina Garanca Vienna Mezzo-soprano Netflix Opera Music

In her decades-long career, star Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca has seen the ups and downs of the music industry first hand. But the business has changed drastically with the rise of social media, even impacting the way many people inside and outside the industry approach classical music — namely "without patience or time", she told ...

Maestro Christoph von Dohnányi Dies in Munich Aged 95

This is Beirut, 08/09 13:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Obituary Christoph von Dohnanyi Conductor Germany Culture

German conductor Christoph von Dohnányi, hailed as one of the greats of his generation, has died aged 95, public broadcaster NDR said Monday. Dohnanyi, who was long music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, died in Munich "a few days before his 96th birthday", which would have been Monday, NDR said. Dohnanyi was principal conductor of the NDR ...

Vienna State Opera Celebrates Season with Free Gala Concert

This is Beirut, 08/09 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Vienna Opera Music Opening Culture Art

No dress code, no stiff atmosphere, and no entry fees: Thousands flocked to a Viennese park Sunday as the Vienna State Opera opened its 2025-26 season with a star-studded open-air gala concert for the first time. The free, open-air concert was the state opera's latest effort to «open the house to all – especially new listeners», it said in a ...

Ariana Grande Wins Top Prize at MTV Video Music Award

This is Beirut, 08/09 09:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

MTV Video Music Awards Music Adriana Grande Culture Art Winner

Ariana Grande won the MTV Video Music Awards' top honor on Sunday, taking home Video of the Year for Brighter Days Ahead, which also claimed Best Pop Song at the ceremony near New York City. Visibly emotional while accepting the evening's most prestigious award, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter and actor delivered an extended thank you to her ...

New Folk Music Documentary Taps Into Bob Dylan Revival

This is Beirut, 06/09 12:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Bob Dylan Festival Venice Culture Cinema

A new documentary featuring never-before-seen footage of a pivotal moment in folk music history taps into a revival of interest in Bob Dylan thanks to recent biopic A Complete Unknown, which starred Timothee Chalamet. Newport and the Great Folk Dream, which premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Friday, charts the development of the Newport ...

The Spectator and Beyond: Bowie’s Unseen Projects at the V&A Museum

This is Beirut, 06/09 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music David Bowie V&A Museum London Britain Culture

David Bowie was working on an "18th century" themed musical at the time of his death, which will feature in a new London center dedicated to the seminal British artist, the BBC reported Friday. The V&A museum will open the free-to-access home for Bowie's vast archive in Stratford, east London, on September 13. One exhibit will be notes from a ...

Cassettes Are Back: The Retro Revival Captivating Gen Z

Bélinda Ibrahim, 05/09 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cassettes Revival Taylor Swift Music Gen Z Culture

Over the years, vinyl has established itself as the stylish, vintage symbol of music’s revival. Yet, unexpectedly, another format from the past is finding its way back into playlists: the audio cassette. Long dismissed as a relic, it is now enjoying a second life, fueled by nostalgia, tech curiosity and savvy marketing from certain artists. ...

Jon Batiste’s "Big Money": A Musical Call to Climate Action

This is Beirut, 28/08 16:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Jon Batiste Climat Environment US Culture

Celebrated US musician Jon Batiste wants to use his music to fire up listeners to act against climate change, naming his new album after what he sees as the root of the problem, Big Money. The track Petrichor in particular is a call to arms for a younger generation who may have turned their backs on mainstream news and analysis about global ...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Confirm Engagement in Style

This is Beirut, 27/08 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Taylor Swift Travis Kelce Music Art

Pop superstar Taylor Swift and American football player Travis Kelce announced their engagement on Tuesday, setting the stage for a high-profile wedding for one of the world's biggest celebrity couples. A joint post on their Instagram pages showed pictures of Kelce on one knee making his marriage proposal in a flower-laden garden, and then Swift ...

Jazz à la Villette Opens With a Bold Tribute to Ornette Coleman

This is Beirut, 27/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Festival Jazz à la Villette Tribute Ornette Coleman Culture

The reinterpretation this Saturday at the Philharmonie of The Shape of Jazz to Come, a cult album by multi-instrumentalist Ornette Coleman released in 1959, will be a highlight of the Jazz à La Villette festival in Paris, which kicks off on Thursday. This album, extremely avant-garde at the time, caused a stir upon its release. Ornette Coleman, ...

From Raves to Roots: Saudi Arabia Spotlights its Heritage

This is Beirut, 18/08 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Culture Heritage Music Concert Art

First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's turning to long-neglected Saudi traditions as it seeks to draw tourists and reshape its national identity. In Terhal, a lavish stage show in Riyadh, an actor in a red-and-white headdress gallops on a white horse, exploring the kingdom's heritage ...

Shakira’s Tour Is a Celebration of Power, Memory, and Style

This is Beirut, 17/08 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Shakira Tour Music Culture Art Singer

When Shakira steps on stage, she curates an experience. Her wardrobe shifts from tribal-inspired jumpsuits to Versace’s gleaming couture, from Balenciaga’s street-savvy tees to Etro’s earthy textures. Each change is a chapter, each fabric a new expression of power. The stadium becomes a runway, but one charged with rhythm, sweat, and a ...

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