Oussama Zahr

Music Critic and Editor

United States

I write about opera, classical music, and other pretty things.

Portfolio

The New York Times

The New Yorker

The New Yorker
2020
Lady Gaga: "Chromatica"

Lady Gaga aims to vanquish the personal demons and the hunger for notoriety that she embraced on her first two records.

The New Yorker
2020
Charli XCX: "How I'm Feeling Now"

Charli XCX has been making futuristic electro-pop since her 2013 début, but with her new album, she creates music for the present.

The New Yorker
2020
Dua Lipa: "Future Nostalgia"

The days of dance-pop divas being dismissed as commercial products are largely gone, but Dua Lipa is gunning for more than grudging acceptance.

The New Yorker
2019
"The Magic Flute"

Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky's staging of Mozart’s enchanting singspiel draws on the tropes of silent film and Weimar cabaret.

The New Yorker
2018
"The Mile Long Opera"

“The Mile-Long Opera” tells the stories of everyday New Yorkers through soliloquies about money, restaurant closures, and iced-coffee cups.

The New Yorker
2018
Audra McDonald at Caramoor

Audra McDonald—a radiant singer, protean actor, and record-breaking winner of six Tony Awards—has a voice that defies categorization.

Billboard

Billboard
09/19/2019
Move Over, Mozart

Living composers are giving opera's masters a run for their Grammys in the Best Opera Recording category.

Billboard
06/07/2019
David Lang: Politics & Opera

David Lang's "Prisoner of the State" indicts democracy's descent into totalitarianism. But he's not looking to provoke any inflammatory tweets by a certain member of the executive branch.

Billboard
08/23/2018
Aretha Franklin: The Ultimate Diva

The term "diva," borrowed from opera, has nothing to do with outlandish offstage behavior and everything to do with a gift for song.

Celebrity Interviews

Gotham, Spring 2017
02/20/2017
Joe Jonas cover story

The soft-spoken frontman of pop music's zaniest band of misfits explains why Justin Timberlake's career path just isn't for him.

Gotham, Fall 2016
08/18/2016
Diane Lane

Born in New York and raised in the theater, Diane Lane chats about her return to Broadway.

Gotham, Spring 2016
02/22/2016
Isaac Mizrahi

Taking fabulosity lessons from Les Mizrahi.

Capitol File, Late Fall 2015
10/13/2015
Anderson Cooper Hits the Road

Anderson Cooper loosens his newsroom tie for a speaking tour with late-night host Andy Cohen.

Lifestyle

Hamptons, Issue 10, 2017
08/25/2017
Décor Trend: Beach Life

Homepolish's cofounder puts the finishing touches on the beach house you want.

Hamptons, Issue 4, 2017
07/14/2017
Summer Cocktails

How to tweak your favorite sips and kick them up a notch.

Gotham, Late Fall 2016
10/03/2016
Glamping 2.0

Wanna weekend like a Rockefeller? Get to The Point in the Adirondacks.

Capitol File, Late Fall 2016
10/03/2016
Go Check Yourself

Why should lumbersexuals have all the fun? Here are some ways to play with plaid for fall.