Parterre Box - Opera from a certain point of view

Calm and composed

In between performances of Strauss and Mozart, Parterre Box highlights the smolderingly elegant Samantha Hankey.

All-American girl

A new English translation of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West gallops into a high school in Pacifica with as much grit and gumption as its titular frontierswoman.

Book Review

Song matters

John Yohalem reviews pianist Steven Blier‘s warm, witty, and worldly autobiography, From Ear to Ear.

The Talk of the Town

Next season I’m excited for Manon with Nadine Sierra

There are several HDs that look interesting, but what I most looking forward to is the Manon with Nadine Sierra.

64 comments

Broadcasts / Live Chat

Adriana Lecouvreur

Ermonela Jaho sings the title role in a live broadcast from Vienna opposite Elina Garanca and Luciano Ganci

Streaming and discussion start Sep 5 at 1:00 PM

Comment

Opern Air

Asmik Grigorian, Piotr Beczala, Juan Diego Flórez, and Ludovic Tézier lead a live concert from the Wiener Burggarten with the forces of the Wiener Staatsoper

Streaming and discussion start Sep 6 at 1:30 PM

Comment

Four Last Songs

Paweł Kapuła conducts Natalya Romaniw in a live performance from the Royal Albert Hall

Streaming and discussion start Sep 9 at 1:00 PM

Comment

Last Night of the Proms

Sakari Oramo conducts Nicky Spence and Yuja Wang in a live performance from Royal Albert Hall

Streaming and discussion start Sep 12 at 2:00 PM

Comment

Pene Pati

Pene Pati performs French, English, and German songs with Ronny Michael Greenberg in a performance recorded last fall in New York

Streaming and discussion start Sep 12 at 8:00 PM

Comment

Elektra

Karina Canellakis conducts Ingela Brimberg in the title role with Vida Miknevičiūtė and Karen Cargill in a performance recorded last month at the Edinburgh Festival

Streaming and discussion start Sep 19 at 1:00 PM

Comment

Jean de Nivelle

The forces of Palazzetto Bru Zane present Cyrille Dubois and Mélissa Petit in a performance of Delibes's opera recorded in Budapest in January

Streaming and discussion start Sep 19 at 1:30 PM

Comment

Simon Boccanegra

George Petean, Eleonora Buratto, Freddie De Tommaso, and Alexander Vinogradov star in a performance recorded last April in Munich

Streaming and discussion start Sep 26 at 1:30 PM

Comment

Sasha Cooke

Sasha Cooke performs an eclectic mix of songs by American, German, and Russian composers in a recital with Myra Huang recorded last fall at the Park Avenue Armory

Streaming and discussion start Sep 26 at 8:00 PM

Comment

A Florentine Tragedy & Bluebeard’s Castle

A double bill of Zemlinsky and Bartók live from Vienna starring Asmik Grigorian, Dmitry Golovnin, Christopher Maltman, and Florian Boesch

Streaming and discussion start Oct 3 at 1:30 PM

Comment

The Talk of the Town

Next season I’m excited for La fanciulla del West

I’m looking forward to the Met’s new production of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West.

By Montagu James 229 comments

Broadcast

Lili Elbe / Santa Fe Opera

Lucia Lucas sings the title role in Tobias Picker's newest opera in a performance recorded earlier this summer in Santa Fe

Streamed August 31, 2026 at 8:00 PM

Comment

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Leyla Gender-Bender

It is only a concert performance, but no one seems to have told them that; and thank the heavens for that!

By Leyla Gender-Bender 77 comments

Broadcast

Le damnation de Faust / BBC Proms

John Osborn, Véronique Gens, and Gerald Finley lead a live performance from the Royal Albert Hall

Streamed August 30, 2026 at 2:00 PM

26 comments

our own

I’ll take the fall

The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town!

By Parterre Box 6 comments

Performance Review

State of siege

An amateurish production of Le siège de Corinthe, combined with heavy-handed conducting, at Pesaro weakens the defenses of one of Rossini‘s most topical operas.

By Nigel Wilkinson 19 comments

Broadcast

Verdi Requiem / Salzburg Festival

A performance recorded two weeks ago in Salzburg with Riccardo Muti conducting Iwona Sobotka, Marianne Crebassa, Michael Spyres, and Maharram Huseynov

Streamed August 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM

14 comments

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from piotr

Pure dementia. Magda Olivero in the finale to Fedora.

By piotr 83 comments

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Calm and composed

In between performances of Strauss and Mozart, Parterre Box highlights the smolderingly elegant Samantha Hankey.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Wet ‘n wild

Parterre Box invites you to cool off with a dip in the lake alongside Sonya Yoncheva and Pavel Černoch in Rusalka.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Troy and Troy again

For those with Odyssey fever, this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag item features a performance of another ancient epic: Les Troyens with Russell Thomas.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Bass desires

Alexander Köpeczi, currently plying leading roles in two operas in Santa Fe and, rumor has it, the life of one prominent soprano, is the object of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Bel canto snarl for bel canto snarl

Rising stars Chelsea Lehnea and Ricardo José Rivera are the protagonists of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Wie tönender Schall schlug’s an mein Ohr

It’s a busy summer for Vida Miknevičiūtė and Eric Cutler, the subjects of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.

Sad

Voi foste, io vi perdei

Christopher Corwin remembers the late soprano Ileana Cotrubas — and shares some archival recordings of her in Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Leoncavallo, and Gounod.

By Christopher Corwin 34 comments

Broadcast

The Met Orchestra plays Mahler / BBC Proms

Yannick Nézet‐Séguin conducts Joyce DiDonato in Rückert-Lieder, as well as Symphony No. 4 and Kaija Saariaho's Lumière et pesanteur live from Royal Albert Hall

Streamed August 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM

4 comments

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Wet ‘n wild

Parterre Box invites you to cool off with a dip in the lake alongside Sonya Yoncheva and Pavel Černoch in Rusalka.

By Parterre Box 8 comments

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Darby Fegan

What is more demented than a thrilling performance of Strauss’s Elektra?

By Darby Fegan 109 comments

Broadcast

The Met Orchestra plays Strauss / BBC Proms

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Elza van den Heever in the final scene from Salome as well as the Rosenkavalier Suite and Ein Heldenleben

Streamed August 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM

1 comment

Broadcast

L’elisir d’amore / Teatro la Fenice

Gilda Fiume and Valerio Borgioni lead a live broadcast from Venice

Streamed August 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM

Comment

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Sanford

This Strauss is demented in the best way possible.

By Sanford 88 comments

Feature

Here is who I am now

Julia Bullock on ten years of living with the life and artistry of Joséphine Baker before Paris performances of Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine

By Julia Bullock 2 comments

Talk of the Town

The Talk of the Town

Next season I’m excited for Manon with Nadine Sierra

There are several HDs that look interesting, but what I most looking forward to is the Manon with Nadine Sierra.

The Talk of the Town

Next season I’m excited for La fanciulla del West

I’m looking forward to the Met’s new production of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West.

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Leyla Gender-Bender

It is only a concert performance, but no one seems to have told them that; and thank the heavens for that!

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from piotr

Pure dementia. Magda Olivero in the finale to Fedora.

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Darby Fegan

What is more demented than a thrilling performance of Strauss’s Elektra?

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Sanford

This Strauss is demented in the best way possible.

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Ben Miller

They should sell pay-per-view tickets to this like WWE.

By Ben Miller 77 comments

Broadcast

Rodelinda / Santa Fe Opera

Harry Bicket conducts a cast lead by Lucy Crowe in a performance recorded earlier this summer in Santa Fe

Streamed August 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM

1 comment

The Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from La Grunowa

Pitch be damned.

By La Grunowa 72 comments

Broadcast

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 / Boston Symphony Orchestra

Gustavo Gimeno conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a live performance from Tanglewood featuring Mané Galoyan, Zoie Reams, Ben Bliss, and Soloman Howard

Streamed August 23, 2026 at 7:00 PM

Comment