Young, widely acclaimed French conductor Louis Langrée takes over Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival this summer, injecting new life into a New York standard that ranges far beyond the Austrian composer's own works. New productions include Mozart's playful allegory of four star-crossed lovers, Il Re Pastore, directed by Mark Lamos, known for his vanguard stagings of opera classics, and featuring silvery-voiced soprano Heidi Grant Murphy. Mark Morris's modern dance troupe presents V, set to Schumann's exuberant piano quintet. Langrée conducts the festival orchestra in nine performances: among them Mozart's piano concertos, Haydn's choral work The Creation, and, on opening night, Mendelssohn's first piano concerto, with 21-year-old Chinese soloist Lang Lang. Not to be missed: choreographer Trisha Brown's sublime staging of Schubert's song cycle of love and loss, Winterreise, performed by the robust and elegant baritone Simon Keenlyside and members of Brown's company. Lincoln Center; July 29-August 23; 212/875-5766; www.lincolncenter.org.
—Mario R. Mercado