Here a Leigh, there a Leigh
Judith Malafronte sits down with bass David Leigh who debuts as Rocco in Washington National Opera’s production of Fidelio next week
Judith Malafronte sits down with bass David Leigh who debuts as Rocco in Washington National Opera’s production of Fidelio next week
Lately I’ve been preoccupied with Verdi and Il trovatore in particular anticipating the opera’s return to the Met later this month for the first time since 2018, this unusual deep-dive Chris’s Cache (on my birthday) is the result.
To the extent that singers should be considered stewards of their repertoire, equating bad singing to whatever “verismo” is will only be to the detriment of verismo.
On this day in 1965 soprano Renata Scotto made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cio-Cio San
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Xian Zhang conducts Aleksandra Kurzak, SeokJong Baek, and George Gagnidze in a live broadcast from New York
Michele Mariotti conducts Allan Clayton, Sophie Bevan, Simon Keenlyside, Clive Bayley, Jacques Imbrailo, and Catherine Wyn-Rogers in a live broadcast from Rome
On this day in 1967 the Metropolitan Opera debuts of mezzo Teresa Berganza as Cherubino and baritone Tom Krause as Count Almaviva
Maximalism was on the menu last weekend at the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Emily D’Angelo, Ellie Dehn, Ben Bliss, and Greer Grimsley in an opening night broadcast of Jeanine Tesori and George Brant‘s new opera from the Met
It’s not so much that I hated the Met Opera’s Grounded. I’m just not convinced that it should have been an opera.
On this day in 1986 baritone Thomas Hampson made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Count Almaviva
Chris’s Cache celebrates an “Easter in October” gala with five special pirate recordings of Cavalleria Rusticana from the Met featuring four prima donnas whose Santuzze never got a Saturday broadcast and one whose did: Giulietta Simionato, Fiorenza Cossotto, Régine Crespin, Rita Hunter and Mignon Dunn.
On this day in 1988 Dolora Zajick made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Azucena
Mahler’s 8th Symphony is an enormous and enigmatic work.
The music was at every point dramatically compelling, without seeming cheap or manipulative.
On this day in 1965 mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Eboli
Following cancelled debuts in New York, London, and Vienna, Anna Netrebko has finally made her debut as Abigaille in Berlin last week