Congratulations to Offa Rex, Randy Newman, and the Metropolitan Opera on their Grammy Award nominations: The Queen of Hearts (Best Folk Album), "Putin" (Best Arrangement), and Berg's Lulu (Best Opera Recording), respectively. The 60th Grammy Awards will take place at NYC's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, January 28, 2018, broadcast live on CBS.

The Nonesuch Blu-Ray/DVD of Alban Berg's Lulu at the Metropolitan Opera has been nominated for an International Opera Award for Recording (Complete Opera) of the Year. Also among the nominees are the production's conductor, Lothar Koenigs, for Conductor of the Year, and two of its performers, Johan Reuter and Martin Winkler, both for Male Singer of the Year. Winners will be announced in London on Sunday, May 7, 2017.

The Metropolitan Opera's performance of Alban Berg's Lulu is now available on Blu-ray and DVD together in one package from Nonesuch Records. The Met's new production, directed by acclaimed South African visual artist William Kentridge, premiered in 2015 and starred Marlis Petersen in her final performances as Lulu, a role she has made "hers and almost hers alone" (Opera News) in ten different productions over eighteen years. The New York Times called it "a stunning and searing production." The production will be presented at English National Opera in November.

Nonesuch Records releases the Metropolitan Opera's performance of Alban Berg's Lulu on Blu-ray and DVD together in one package on October 28, 2016. The Met's new production, directed by acclaimed South African visual artist William Kentridge, premiered in 2015 and starred Marlis Petersen in her final performances as Lulu, a role she has made "hers and almost hers alone" (Opera News) in ten different productions over eighteen years. The New York Times called it "a stunning and searing production." The production will be presented at English National Opera in November 2016.

Congratulations to Kronos Quartet and Nico Muhly, who have been named winners of ECHO Klassik 2015 awards. Kronos Quartet is the winner of the Classics Without Borders award for its 40th anniversary release A Thousand Thoughts, and Nico Muhly's opera Two Boys, recorded live at the Metropolitan Opera, has been named Opera Recording of the Year for 20th/21st century music. The ECHO Klassik awards are conferred by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie (German Recording Academy), akin to the Grammy Awards in the United States. This year's awards ceremony will take place in Berlin on October 18 and will be televised on ZDF in Germany.

Composer Nico Muhly was the guest on NPR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook. His in-depth conversation with Ashbrook touches on a number of aspects of his work, not least his first large-scale opera, Two Boys. Nonesuch released the recording of Two Boys—recorded live during the Met's 2013 production with conductor David Robertson and director Bartlett Sher—in September. You can listen to the On Point interview here.

In the "excellent" Nonesuch release of Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys, recorded live at the Metropolitan Opera, the piece “emerges quite wonderfully, confirming the arrival on the operatic scene of a mature and striking new compositional voice,” raves Opera magazine. “The opera is a work of great insight and compassion, with principal themes that loom large in the modern world,” says the magazine. “The eclectic score is deeply affecting … [Muhly’s] lyrical gifts glow brightly … The choral writing is marvelous; most memorably, the chorale that closes the opera leads the music onto an exquisitely rarefied plain.” The review concludes: “the CD is very strongly recommended.”

John Adams's 1991 opera The Death of Klinghoffer receives its Metropolitan Opera premiere tonight, the first of eight performances during the Met's 2014–15 season. This is the third Adams work to be staged at the Met, following Doctor Atomic and Nixon in China. The production is directed by Tom Morris, with David Robertson conducting and baritone Paulo Szot starring in the leading role.

Today marks the release of Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys—recorded live during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 production with conductor David Robertson and director Bartlett Sher—on Nonesuch Records. The opera, with a libretto by award-winning playwright Craig Lucas, is loosely based on true events and follows a lonely detective whose investigation of a seemingly simple crime draws her into a complex web of online intrigue. Alice Coote sings the role of Detective Inspector Anne Strawson and Paul Appleby sings Brian, the 16-year-old boy at the center of her investigations. Two Boys is Muhly’s Nonesuch debut.

Nonesuch releases Nico Muhly’s opera Two Boys—recorded live during the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 production with conductor David Robertson and director Bartlett Sher—on September 30, 2014. The two-act opera, with a libretto by award-winning playwright Craig Lucas, is loosely based on true events and follows a lonely detective whose investigation of a seemingly simple crime draws her into a complex web of online intrigue. Alice Coote sings the role of Detective Inspector Anne Strawson and Paul Appleby sings Brian, the 16-year-old boy at the center of her investigations. Two Boys, which is Muhly’s Nonesuch debut, is available to pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of the opera’s Act I, Scene 6.

The cancellation of The Metropolitan Opera’s worldwide HD broadcast of The Death of Klinghoffer has been widely reported in the press over the last several days. The Death of Klinghoffer has been met with controversy since its premiere in 1991, but the work has endured and received many new productions since then. The New York Times reports that the decision was made after discussions between The Metropolitan Opera and the Anti-Defamation League. Adams responded to the cancellation a day later, also in the Times, and today both the paper's chief classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini, and Editorial Board explain why they believe the Met's decision was a mistake.

John Adams's 1991 opera The Death of Klinghoffer will receive its Metropolitan Opera premiere on October 20, 2014, the first of eight performances during the Met's 2014–15 season. This is the third Adams work to be staged at the Met, following Doctor Atomic and Nixon in China. The production is directed by Tom Morris (War Horse), with David Robertson conducting and baritone Paulo Szot in the leading role.