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Antics And Anguish: Puccini's 'La Boheme'

Passion turns into lasting love, but ends with desperate tragedy, in Puccini's beloved La Boheme — maybe the greatest "date opera" in history — in a racy new production from the Washington National Opera.

The Story of 'La Boheme'

New love takes a tragic turn in Puccini's beloved La Boheme.

'Cheek To Cheek': The Melody Lingers On

Top Hat, from 1935, featured Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. But commentator Rob Kapilow says the real star of the movie is Irving Berlin's classic song, "Cheek to Cheek."

Quartet San Francisco: Brubeck On Strings

The chamber ensemble earned two Grammy nominations for its 2009 album, which rearranged classic tunes by the jazz composer Dave Brubeck. On the eve of the Grammy Awards, the string quartet visited NPR to play songs like "Blue Rondo a la Turk."

'Agrippina,' Handel's Unlikely Comedy

In his first, true operatic masterpiece, Handel creates an odd-ball comedy filled with scheming characters from ancient Rome. Read the story and hear excerpts from the site of the opera's premiere, in 1710.

The Story of 'Agrippina'

Early in his career, Handel unleashed an odd-ball comedy, built with ruthless characters from ancient Rome.

Fritz Kreisler's Music (And His Violin) At WGBH

Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider plays one of the most famous fiddles around: a 1741 Guarneri del Gesu that once belonged to the beloved violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler. Hear Znaider play works by Kreisler in the WGBH studios.

First Listen: The Knife, 'Tomorrow, In A Year'

Something beautiful happens in the midst of The Knife's electro-opera, based on Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species: The music itself evolves as the album progresses. Hear the Swedish duo's collaboration with Planningtorock and Mt. Sims in its entirety until its digital release on Feb. 2.

Remembering Pianist Earl Wild

Celebrated for his robust technique and rich tone, American pianist and composer Earl Wild died Saturday at age 94, after an eight-decade career. He performed for six American presidents and was the first pianist to give a solo recital on American television.

Brooklyn Rider: Tiny Desk Concert

It's hard to know what will happen when the string quartet Brooklyn Rider starts playing. Yes, these four guys love to play Debussy and Brahms, but they're just as likely to team up with a singer-songwriter or a Kurdish kamancheh player. Or write their own music. So we weren't sure what they'd do when they stopped by the NPR Music offices to play a Tiny Desk Concert. What we got was a bracing sample of their visceral fire.