Alla pompa che si appresta meco, o schiava, assisterai Alla pompa che si appresta meco, o schiava, assisterai

The celebrated ‘Triumph’ scene… borders on homoerotic porn.

on November 09, 2016 at 3:23 PM
Just a song at twilight Just a song at twilight

“Mr. Levine was conducting his beloved Wagner for what was almost certainly the last time.”

on June 03, 2016 at 8:41 AM
Seamless Seamless

“Friday night’s triumph may well leave the Met’s management wondering how it let such a gem slip through its fingers.”

on February 25, 2016 at 1:00 PM
End of the line End of the line

“Mr. Eyre’s production… was just another in a series of ugly, gargantuan stagings signaling the Met’s endemic lack of imagination or artistic ambition.”

on February 18, 2016 at 1:22 PM
Glister act Glister act

New York City Opera Renaissance’s Tosca “was opera at its most retrograde, an effort to recreate a golden age from a handful of tinsel.”

on January 28, 2016 at 1:08 PM
Tell me about the rabbits Tell me about the rabbits

Our Own JJ confesses he just doted on Heartbreak Express, but “You Us We All was not my cup of twee.”

on November 18, 2015 at 1:03 PM
Lulu’s back in town Lulu’s back in town

Continuing coverage of the Met’s new Alban Berg spectacular.

on November 11, 2015 at 2:56 PM
La povera mia cena La povera mia cena

“Puccini’s Tosca is what is known in the trade as a ‘bread and butter’ opera.”

on October 22, 2015 at 2:50 PM
Where’s the fire? Where’s the fire?

“Everyone complains about how there is no great singing in opera anymore, but last week’s performances suggest that’s not so. The singing today is mostly fine; it’s everything else that’s the problem.”

on October 14, 2015 at 9:47 AM
The cat didn’t come back The cat didn’t come back

“Along with every other music journalist in New York, I was blindsided by this news. If ever there was a company that appeared the picture of fiscal and artistic good health, it was Gotham.”

on October 07, 2015 at 11:09 AM
Man of steel Man of steel

“This throwback to the golden age of opera—superhuman singing greeted with frenzied ovations—was a function of a perfect storm of excitement.”

on September 30, 2015 at 2:38 PM
He-who-must-be-obeyed He-who-must-be-obeyed

Read and heed!

on September 17, 2015 at 9:05 AM
Summer nights Summer nights

“Those kids in Bushwick have this opera thing figured out.”

on September 02, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Guilt trip Guilt trip

Part of what makes opera seem, at least, a camp art form is that fans of the genre have such inconsistent taste.

on July 22, 2015 at 1:51 PM
Mixed messages Mixed messages

For instance, the mule is more intelligent and more patient than its parents the horse and the donkey.

on June 12, 2015 at 3:04 PM
Up to speed Up to speed

“New York is great. Opera is great. They deserve each other. So what can we do to get them together? Who can show us how it’s done? We need to ask the Germans.”

on May 22, 2015 at 2:46 PM
Bum’s rush Bum’s rush

Our Own JJ reviews Orlando and Early Shaker Spirituals in the Observer.

on May 07, 2015 at 2:42 AM
Ham and ex Ham and ex

Our Own JJ was only semi-amused.

on April 27, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Sometimes just pretzels and beer Sometimes just pretzels and beer

Our Own JJ crunches the numbers at the Met and LoftOpera in the New York Observer.

on April 08, 2015 at 9:30 AM
The kids are not all right The kids are not all right

“’They’re young… they’re in love… and they kill people’ goes the tagline for the 1968 film Bonnie and Clyde, but the slogan could apply almost as well to the outlaw pair at the center of the Metropolitan Opera’s white-hot revival of Massenet’s Manon.”

on March 18, 2015 at 9:14 AM
Dongs of mirth and triumph sing! Dongs of mirth and triumph sing!

Donkey dick and other Asian Fusion vaudeville acts arouse “The BAM Effect” at Handel’s Semele.

on March 11, 2015 at 12:14 PM
“The cold bothered me, anyway” “The cold bothered me, anyway”

“It was the chilliest opening night at the Met in years on Monday—barely 15 degrees when the curtain went up on the company premiere of La Donna del Lago.

on February 19, 2015 at 7:37 PM
Singular sensation Singular sensation

“If Mozart had only had the sense to write Don Giovanni in a… single-performer format, last Wednesday’s revival at the Met would have been one for the ages.

on February 11, 2015 at 1:35 PM
For your eyes only For your eyes only

“Don’t bother with The Loft or The Boy Next Door: the most spine-chilling thriller currently playing isn’t on the screen of your local multiplex but on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.”

on February 04, 2015 at 9:46 AM