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From fulfilling funerary functions, to eulogising friends and fellow artists, or lamenting the waste of war: here are some of the finest examples of music written in mourning.

Bachtrack’s 25,000th review marks 15 years of global classical music and dance coverage. Discover in-depth, professionally edited reviews in multiple languages from 37 countries – and tip your hat to our wonderful editors and reviewers.

The iconoclastic Spanish director talks about a new production of Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina in Geneva – and the messy, anarchic, utopian struggle of directing opera.

This February, Regents Opera stages Wagner’s complete Ring cycle at London’s York Hall. Soprano Catharine Woodward talks about embodying one of the most iconic characters in all opera: Brünnhilde.

Anton Bruckner, nicknamed “Tonerl”, spent his childhood in rural Ansfelden, Upper Austria. Tracking his life from there to Sankt Florian and Vienna, Bruckner would leave a lasting impression on musicians and listeners alike.

The conductor speaks about his Ring cycle at La Monnaie, his parallel careers in Belgium, France and Germany, and trying to keep his feet on the ground while gazing at the summits.

“Go digital!” was the brief to director Chen Shi-Zheng, who has employed cutting-edge visualisation technology and motion-tracking for the 15-hour Wagner cycle in Brisbane.

The Norwegian soprano talks about pacing a career, new roles and resisting the offers that followed her Operalia success.

The first director of Asian descent to stage Der Ring des Nibelungen in its entirety talks about his refusal to follow existing formulas in this new production for Opera Australia.

The Latvian bass-baritone’s talks about his background in French and Italian opera, his journey to Wagner – and becoming chairman of the board of Latvian National Opera.

Drawing on the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), Wagner is best remembered for his extraordinary music dramas, not least the monumental, 15-hour Ring cycle.

Cellist and Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival tells us about the festival’s new commissions, performing on stage, and connecting together musicians from around the world.

The Australian conductor compares the two grandees of the Romantic era  – both their music and their personalities.

Wagner in Singapore: we find out more from the conductor of the Orchestra of the Music Makers, who are set to perform Die Walküre for the first time in January 2020.

We spoke to bass-baritone James Rutherford about his upcoming role as Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Wagner Days in Budapest.

Opening with Mahler's epic Third Symphony – a test of any concert call – Müpa's new season brings great music and great musicians to Budapest. 

Jonas Kaufmann talks about his varied repertoire, artistic freedom and keeping his voice sounding fresh. 

Stuart Skelton explores Wagner's shattering song cycle and draws the parallels with Tristan und Isolde.

From the anthology of classical music greats there springs a surprising number of multi-faceted composers. We already know all about their musical achievements, but from Rossini to Wagner, many hide also talents as science geniuses, celebrated chefs, sporting prodigies, accomplished artists and even political pioneers. 

As he awaits the swan to pull him into another new production, Klaus Florian Vogt reflects on Lohengrin and his other Wagner roles.

This year is a big year for the late, great Birgit Nilsson. Not only does 2018 mark the 100th anniversary of the Swedish soprano’s birth, but it will also mark the fourth time which the prize that bears her name will be awarded.

Der fliegende Holländer is a great entry point for those looking for a way into Wagner’s operatic oeuvre. Here, we run down the need-to-knows about this early masterwork.

The object of his desires, the wife of Wagner’s patron proved an important collaborator. 

At the 2018 Budapest Wagner Days, the festival's creator will conduct Tannhäuser and Tristan und Isolde. He talks to us about what makes stagings of those operas tick, about Müpa and about the renewed Ring for 2019.

Since 2006, the annual Budapest Wagner Days has quietly been growing into a major force for dedicated Wagnerites, the highlight of Müpa’s season.

Anton Bruckner's veneration for Wagner is well-documented. But how did Wagner's influence actually manifest itself in the Austrian composer's work?

Pierre Audi's Amsterdam Ring for De Nederlandse Opera was revived here for the Wagner bicentennial. Happily for us, this exemplary team retained sets, costumes, light and video designs and, most significantly, the energy and determination to (re)cast and undertake it all one last time.

Who were the busiest performers of 2013? And who were the most performed composers? Find out in our annual set of statistics here.

With Wagner's anniversary year in full swing, the debate surrounding the ethics of performing his music continues.

An appraisal of Robert Lepage's controversial production of the Ring cycle at the Metropolitan Opera, in its revival in 2013.

2013 sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner. Love him or loathe him, it’s impossible to deny the extent of the man’s influence, and the opera world will be celebrating the anniversary with a string of Wagner productions across the globe. If you’re new to Wagner, a good place to start is Der fliegende Holländer (“The Flying Dutchman”).

On a first visit to Bayreuth, there are some things that one expects, of course: the beautiful opera house set in its park high on a hill above the city, the unique acoustic of its sunken, invisible orchestra pit, the cream of elegant German society in the grounds, wall to wall Wagner in the bookshops and names of buildings and streets. But there are also some surprises.

Auch wenn es „den einen unwiderruflichen Originalklang nicht geben kann", Concerto Köln und Kent Nagano versuchen sich dennoch an Wagners Ring.