San Francisco
For years Mozart's The Magic Flute has been a fixture of San Francisco's summer opera season. This year's production at the War Memorial Opera House promises to be like nothing seen before. The hi-tech retelling of the classic tale uses 3-D software in conjunction with more than 3,000 tempera and chalk paintings to create a wholly fresh operatic experience. The show runs until July 8.
Brooklyn
Continuing through to next Thursday is Brooklyn's Northside festival. This eight-day celebration features more than 350 musical acts, 50 films and 120 guest speakers. Embracing the craze for genre-blending programmes of late, Northside has lured Of Montreal as well as Kool Keith. And ?uestlove will be there, alongside Swedish songster Jens Lekman and Wu-Tang Clan's GZA.
Barcelona
The curtain came down on Spain's Sonar festival yesterday. The three-day gathering consistently attracts an impressive and diverse roster of talent, which this year included British rock stalwarts New Order, American electronic musician James Murphy, indie siren Lana Del Rey, Fatboy Slim, and The Roots. Sonar is a roving affair that also takes place in Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Cape Town.