Concert performances of operas are often merely static shadows of fully-staged performances, but this double-bill by the Mariinsky Opera was a revelation.

Oscar Wilde's 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is a tale of the obsessive need to remain youthful and how a soul can be corrupted when that person no longer accepts the disfigurement

The Edinburgh Festival goes out each year with literally many, very large bangs, in its annual Festival Fireworks Concert.

The final allocation of tickets for the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert go on sale tomorrow at 10.00am. Tickets will be available only from the counter of the Hub.

Ruhe - which means "silence" in German - is an extraordinary piece of theatre. It deals with the thorny subject of Dutch citizens voluntarily collaborating with the SS Brownshirts during the second world war after Holland had been invaded by the Nazis. The performance juxtaposes a selection of Schubert's serene "partsongs" with monologues taken from transcripts of interviews with the volunteers.

The Queen's Hall chamber series today featured a father and daughter recital - Mischa Maisky on cello and Lily Maisky playing the piano.

This welcome return by Scottish Opera to the Edinburgh Festival after too-long an absence was better-than well received by a capacity audience, causing frequent laughter throughout Smetana's comedy of manners.

Tazieh is the folk-drama of Shi'a Islam, in which the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammed, is a central focus and essential element. Looking at Tazieh, however, is a documentary in which the audience figures as much, if not more, than the action they watch.

There are fine theatrical moments in Jidariyya, from the opening in a hospital emergency room to its close. The journey of a soul is, of course, a frequent and time-honoured motif in the literature of all cultures, and Mahmoud Darwish's poetry nods frequently toward a variety of sources.

Georgian sacred and folk music is quite distinctive. Unlike European and other a cappella songs, their harmonies sound discordant at times, but that is what makes their music so unique.

Israel in Egypt, the fifth of the nineteen oratorios which George Frideric Handel composed in England, was written in 1738, the composition of the whole colossal work occupying but twenty-

Festival Director Jonathan Mills made a bold choice in opening his second festival with this bitter satire on capitalism and decadent society - and one he is reported to have had in mind since his appointment.

Today's concert at the Queen's Hall was with the Venezuelan pianist Gabriel Montero.

The programme changes every day at the Queens Hall during the International Festival period, but all concerts involve chamber music with soloists, duos, trios, quartets and quintets.

The Tell-Tale Heart is an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe gothic, dark tale. A gripping monologue, we are from the beginning taken right into the mind of the insane character who has methodically plotted the gruesome murder of an old man who lives in his house.

This year's theme of Artists without Borders is reflected across the programme which features an international line-up of artists

Few cities undergo such a transformation as Scotland's capital city in the month of August.

The normally easy-going, historic city suddenly jolts to life as thousands of actors, artists,

A further six-month delay in the refurbishment of the Scottish capital's main concert hall has forced the Royal Scottish National

The flagship Edinburgh International Festival, a high-brow assembly of some of the world's best opera, theatre, and ballet companies, was launched in 1947 as a stage for peace and unity in Europe a

The 62nd Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) programme, which was launched this morning at The Hub in Edinburgh, turns its view to Europe and the "politi