‘Do I put Sleeping Beauty on my CV?!’ Ballet dancers on their next steps, from midwifery to the House of Lords

Six dancers who made bold career pivots reflect on ballet’s transferable skills, what they miss about the stage – and what they were glad to leave behind

Unnatural Harmony: Sounds of Lee Alexander McQueen review – MOR tribute to a fashion maverick

Featuring music that inspired the designer, this show brings together Le Gateau Chocolat, dancers in body stockings and a formal orchestra to mild effect

O/Modernt review – from Auerbach to Mahler, the fires of love bruise, batter and delight

The Stockholm-based chamber ensemble, led by violinist Hugo Ticciati, brought a programme that linked Auerbach and Janáček to Golijov – with clarinettist Christoffer Sundqvist the hypnotic soloist - and Mahler

Giving and misgivings: opera managers must choose their poison

Opera needs big money: opera chiefs need big donors. New York’s Metropolitan Opera has just lost a $200m investment, but should it have accepted it in the first place?

Schwarzman Centre opening concerts – a magnificent new monument to secular culture

The Sohmen Concert Hall’s acoustics made Scottish Ensemble’s Shostakovich and Tchaivoksky pinprick clear, while the Great Hall showcased Devlin and Muhly’s ‘choral installation’

Venice opera house fires government-linked music director after months of protests

Teatro La Fenice says Beatrice Venezi let go for making ‘repeated offensive’ statements

‘It needs to be loud’: Jozef Van Wissem’s one-man mission to make the lute rock again

The Dutch ex-punk and Jim Jarmusch bandmate talks about his passion to free up a hidebound repertoire and make its strings ‘a real pop instrument’

Michael Tilson Thomas obituary

American conductor who brought high-octane dynamism to performances by the London Symphony Orchestra

Wozzeck: Wretches Like Us review – Berg’s harrowing opera is more adrenaline-inducing than ever

The London Philharmonic under Edward Gardner combined with video art by Ilya Shagalov that was riveting and, in places, not for the squeamish

Turangalîla: Infinite Love review – RPO and 1927 Studios bring Messiaen to joyous and vibrant life

Part of the Southbank’s Multitudes festival, this pairing of silent movie and Messiaen was a feast for the eyes and ears

Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Lemminkäinen Suite album review – Ava Bahari is an enthralling storyteller

In this all-Sibelilus disc, violinist Ava Bahari’s account of the Violin Concerto has heft and exuberance, while Rouvali’s dramatic nous suits the drama of the Four Legends of Lemminkäinen

Forged in Sound: Heavy Metal Orchestrated review – hard-rocking mashup rides the lightning

Suzi Quatro, Mr Lordi and Alison Mosshart joined the Philharmonia in a setlist spanning Wagner and Metallica – with conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali flexing his rock-drummer skills

Multitudes festival: Echoes of Hill and Horizon review – epic light show electrifies Elgar and Vaughan Williams

With dizzying surround sound and thousands of LED baubles, this was a synaesthetic feast from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Timothy Ridout: Alto Appassionato album review – engaging and smartly curated viola and piano programme

Accomplished violist Ridout and pianist Jonathan Ware add bristling imagination and rich emotional layers to music by Franck, Fauré and more

It’s unfashionable, wild and wilful – why Bax’s music deserves a comeback

The British composer is once again missing from the Proms schedule – that’s our loss. Instead, here’s my pick of the brand new music you can catch at the summer festival