Shakespeare has been a tantalizing influence for many composers across the centuries, but Philip Kennicott says that most musical adaptations of the Bard’s work are sadly lacking. “Classic Shakespearean titles grace staples of the concert hall repertoire… But each of these works is successful on its own terms, as a piece of music, a music drama or dance. None of them ever leaves the audience with the sense that they have seen Shakespeare successfully transformed or translated into a new medium. With other writers, something is always lost in translation. With Shakespeare, almost everything is lost.”