OPERA NEWS, currently the largest-circulation classical-music magazine in North America, began publication in May 1936. It is the only magazine in the U.S. that covers opera nationally every month. Editorial content includes profiles of up-and-coming singers as well as established artists of the present and past; features on the art form’s history, as well as new works and productions; CD and DVD reviews; and opinion pieces on the current opera scene. The magazine’s “In Review” section carries reports by local correspondents on opera performances throughout North America and Europe; the annual festival issues (May and June) and season preview (September), as well as the monthly Dateline department, provide performance information for a wide variety of opera companies and festivals. OPERANEWS.COM, the magazine’s web presence from 1993, regularly includes online-exclusive features, Q&As, audio surveys, blogs, photo galleries, recording excerpts and reviews of performances, CDs and DVDs. OPERA NEWS was started as a newsletter published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild for its members. As of the first official issue, in December 1936, circulation stood at 2,239 — the charter membership of the Guild itself, which had been founded in 1935. Most of the first readers of OPERA NEWS — as it was known by the 1936–37 season — were located in the NY metropolitan area. Opera News is currently the largest-circulation classical music publication in North America, and our readership is international.
