Washington woke up this morning to the sad news that Mstislav Rostropovich died in Moscow today, after undergoing treatment for cancer since February. The world has lost a giant of music, an enthusiastic, larger than life figure for many of his 80 years among us. Many Washingtonians felt the loss more keenly because of the Russian cellist and conductor’s long relationship with the city, as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra from 1977 to…

The Shakespeare in Washington festival continues this week with the visit of the Kirov Ballet to the Kennedy Center Opera House. This year, the resident troupe of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater has brought its traveling production of Leonid Lavrovsky’s choreography of Romeo and Juliet. Sergei Prokofiev wanted to premiere the sublime music of this ballet (op. 64) at the Mariinsky in the 1930s, but the theater ultimately balked. The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow also accepted…

The classical music schedule in Washington is starting to fill up, so that by February and March, we will be overwhelmed. Here are a few sure bets this week, as well as a smattering of concerts off the beaten path. THE BIG GUNS: >> Soprano Deborah Voigt has always had a big, gorgeous voice. She made news two years ago when she was fired from a production because the director wanted her character to wear…

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….