The introduction of American composer Samuel Barber’s riveting first opera, “Vanessa,” was marked by uncommon splendor: It had its premiere by the venerable Metropolitan Opera in January 1958, won a ...

Nicole Heaston and Zoie Reams in “Vanessa” | Photo by William Struhs, Spoleto Festival USA. With a libretto by Spoleto Festival USA founder Gian Carlo Menotti, a new version of Samuel Barber’s ...

NORTH ADAMS — The team behind “Vanessa” said they hoped another character in this underperformed opera by Samuel Barber would come to the fore. With a large expressive sound that came out of nowhere, ...

In a nameless northern country, in a mansion like a padded hearse, a “lady of great beauty” sat winter after snowy winter waiting for the man she loved. The great gates were barred, the chandeliers ...

Samuel Barber (1910-1981) is one of the greatest classical American composers of the 20th century. His music is greatly loved for its rich complexity, depth of feeling, and beautiful craftsmanship.

It takes almost as long nowadays to write a new opera as to build a new opera house. Such, at least, has been the experience of Samuel Barber, the American composer commissioned to write the ...

If sadness could be conveyed with sound, could be expressed in musical notes and experienced through melody, the resulting piece would be Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, an American icon of grief ...

American composer Samuel Barber would have been 100 years old Tuesday. He was a favorite with musicians and audiences, but Barber's music didn't fare as well with critics, who tended to write it off ...