The eyes (and ears) of the music world are on Boston . . .

. . . because this week the Boston Early Music Festival and Exhibition is in full swing across the city. The centerpiece of the Festival is always a lavishly mounted "lost" opera, complete with baroque stage machinery and flying effects. This year it's Niobe, Regina di Tebe, by Agostino Steffani (nope, I'd never heard of him either) which plays at the Cutler Majestic through Sunday, and stars Philippe Jaroussky, who's the current big noise among countertenors. And you have to admit - he doesn't sound half bad in the clip above, does he! I'm seeing it Tuesday night and will report back immediately, but I should warn you that tickets are already in short supply, I expect to have a good time, and you might not want to wait!