DECEMBER 26, 2019 It’s a period of transition for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra as it launches a high-profile search for music director Robert Spano’s successor and considers several of this season’s guest conductors as his potential replacement. The year also marked several stellar productions by The Atlanta Opera and recitals at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Since the search for the ASO’s new music director — its chief conductor and artistic leader — has begun in earnest, and Spano is set to step down at the end of the 2020–21 season, let’s discuss which guest conductors merit consideration.…

GIOACHINO ROSSINI’S LA CENERENTOLA was last seen in Atlanta in 2008, when the inimitable Jennifer Larmore starred as Angelina. Like Cinderella’s transformation before the ball, the Atlanta Opera has experienced a metamorphosis in the interim, offering contemporary works alongside the warhorses, hiring rousing singers, and mounting eye-catching productions. Now celebrating its fortieth season, the Atlanta Opera opened the mainstage at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on November 2, offering the Joan Font-Joan Guillén production of La Cenerentola, which premiered in Houston in 2007. But the production was lacking in musical alchemy and led one to wonder whether the magic was all just…