On how I went to a all-female comedy night raising funds for women's charities - and it was awkward, but needn't have been.

Cardiologist Hywel Davies describes the origins of the syphilis claim from Paul Kildea's biography of Benjamin Britten, which began as an "ordinary conversation" in a colleague's house in the late 1980s.

Watching Swan Lake through 3D glasses might feel strange at first, but the Mariinsky Theatre's live 3D broadcast from St Petersburg provides an affordable way to go to the ballet in Russia.

Burt Bacharach’s songs have an inconvenient habit of catching even the most committed cynic unawares and leaving them – about three minutes later – blubbing like the mother of the bride. How does he do it?

The promise of a one-man Macbeth, particularly as performed by such a winkingly self-aware performer as Alan Cumming, is rife with the potential for self-indulgence. Yet the chilling motif of a minimalist asylum ward is used to illuminate how definitively Macbeth's misdeeds have upended the natural order.

Alexandra Coghlan reviews the Dresden Festival's celebration on the eve of Wagner’s 200th birthday.

Her voice, once so English, has turned into a slip-slidey American lilt, half-speech, half-jazz, frequently yoyoing to a deeper register ... In Marling, we’re watching an accelerated transition from youthful talent to artistic sophistication.

The dissident artist and former NS guest editor has released a heavy metal single - check it out here.

YouGov’s EuroTrack survey released today reveals that Brits are most cynical about the Eurovision Song Contest.

From Roxy Music to Coldplay - the many faces of Brian Eno.

Revolution in the head.

Forget homohop, meet lesbo hop.

Never mind the gimmicks.

Will artist-curated festivals become a thing of the past?