FRIDAY: >> Bay Area songstress Goapele’s (pictured) musical background is almost as diverse as her ethnic background. Born to a South African political exile father and a mother whose parents survived the Holocaust, she studied at the Berklee College of Music and later would form musical partnerships with the likes of hip-hop acts like the Hieroglyphics crew and E-40. However her 2005 release, Change It All, established her as especially talented when it comes to......

It's December, which means that much of the classical music concert schedule is devoted to some holiday that apparently occurs near the end of the month. Consult our Holiday Concert Agenda and our Handel's Messiah Agenda, if that is the sort of thing that interests you. Let's try to keep the regular agenda free of that stuff. There is plenty to talk about without it. VOICES: >> The annual residency of the Kirov Opera, the......

Verdi's Macbeth is the least worthy of the composer's three settings of Shakespeare plays, but it is hardly fair to compare this homely little opera to the composer's final masterpieces, Otello and Falstaff. Macbeth, the earliest of the three, has some beautiful melodies, some dramatic scenes, effective choral writing, and glimmers of what Verdi would eventually accomplish -- the elimination of tired bel canto conventions or, short of that, the ingenious incorporation of those......

Last year's celebration of the 100th birthday of Dmitri Shostakovich, on September 25, fizzled out somewhat here in Washington. This week, dedicated listeners had the chance to take their fill of the Russian composer's music. After a thundering concert performance of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by the Kirov Opera on Sunday, it was the Emerson Quartet who brought the early half of their complete cycle of Shostakovich's fifteen string quartets, played to great acclaim in......

As reportedly happened during the Kirov Opera's visit to Washington last year, the best performance of the group's residency this week at the Kennedy Center was saved for last. On Sunday afternoon, conductor Valery Gergiev led a concert performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's modern opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk that was an incendiary triumph. Combined with the three evenings of Shostakovich's chamber music from the Emerson Quartet on my schedule this week, the Russian composer's......

FRIDAY: >> Bliss, the Black Cat's indie rock dance party, presents a combination DJ/Live show. Kicking things off will be The Juan Maclean, followed by the always memorable (and not nearly as dead as you might have thought) Edie Sedgwick. 9 p.m., $12. >> We're all by now familiar with the greatest hits of the Kubrick canon: The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, etc. But if you've never had the......

The Kirov Opera continues its annual residency at the Kennedy Center with Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff. This last opera by the exceptional Italian composer is a mixture of slapstick comedy -- Arrigo Boito based the libretto on portions of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and the Henry IV plays -- and an exquisite score of Mendelssohnian delicacy and carefully crafted drama. As the twilight work of a revered composer, it holds a special place in......

The magic word this week is opera, and just taking in all of the opera performances on the schedule is going to keep you busy. You will find options other than opera after the jump. PLEASURES OPERATIC: >> After Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims this weekend, the Kirov Opera will perform Verdi's Falstaff on Wednesday (January 31, 7:30 p.m.), Friday (February 2, 7:30 p.m.), and Saturday (February 3, 7:30 p.m.) in the Kennedy Center Concert......

So much is happening in classical music this week, much of it already sold out. Here are a few things for which tickets are still available and that should be of interest. JUST VISITING: >> The award for best free concert of the week goes to the Hilliard Ensemble, one of the best choral groups in the world, visiting the Freer Gallery of Art on Wednesday (January 24, 7:30 p.m.). Their program includes music by......

If you are wondering what mysterious something seems to be missing from your life this winter, it could be opera. While we wait for the Washington National Opera's spring season to start in late March, there are a few operas on the schedule to tide us over, presented by visiting companies like the Kirov Opera and the smaller Washington companies like Opera Lafayette and Virginia Opera. Still, opera addicts will not be satisfied until WNO......

If you're going to stage a free reading of Twelfth Night, having it January 6 to kick off the city's "Shakespeare in Washington" festival counts as pretty good timing. Plus, it has Balki. The event will take place at the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall at 6 p.m. tomorrow, and will star Bronson Pinchot, Veanne Cox, Jennifer Dundas, as well as a number of our favorite D.C. actors, like Will Gartshore, Scott McCormick and Regina Aquino.......

Well, this was a busy week for DCist, telling you all about the two operas performed by the Kirov Opera at the Kennedy Center. We could probably use a break this week but we will not get that until July. Well, who are we kidding, we don't really want a break. The more concerts we have to tell you about, the happier we are. For more choices, see our Classical Week in Washington at Ionarts.......

You probably know by now, because we won't shut up about it, that the Kirov Opera is visiting the Kennedy Center this week. We have already recommended their production of Puccini's Turandot. Last night, we were in the Opera House again, to see the Kirov perform Wagner's Parsifal, which the composer insisted was not an opera but a "stage-consecrating festival drama." (This reminds me that what you are reading is not a post, but a......

Members of the Kirov Opera and its Orchestra, normally in residence at the historic Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, come to the Kennedy Center periodically to present touring productions of operas and other great pieces of music. Last night, we were in the Opera House to see the first performance of their staging of Giacomo Puccini's last and perhaps greatest opera, Turandot. It was an excellent show, with well-performed music and a splashy, colorful......

This week, local classical music events are overshadowed by the visit of the Kirov Opera, who are performing at the Kennedy Center. It's not the only thing to hear this week, obviously, but their performances are the ones that are getting our attention. Worry not: we have lots of other concerts to tell you about, too. If you want more options, check out our Classical Week in Washington feature at Ionarts. NEW MUSIC: >> One......

You could hear a lot of good classical music this week, much of it at no cost other than the trip to the concert hall. The biggest events this week are not going to be cheap, but the performances of these visiting musicians do promise to be extraordinary. We will be bringing you reviews, of course. For more concerts, go to our Classical Week in Washington feature at Ionarts. LOOK WHO'S IN TOWN: >> The......