The Russian ballerina Olga Smirnova lit up the start of the company’s six-week summer season. She wasn’t alone.

Each edition of the festival mounts as its centerpiece a fully staged revival of a near-forgotten opera—in 2025, BEMF chose Reinhard Keiser’s ‘Octavia.’ ...

AD: Roman Emperor Julian is killed during retreat from the Sassanid Empire. General Jovian is proclaimed Emperor by troops on ...