An instrument of your peace
Philippe Sly is sublime as Messiaen’s Saint François D’Assise in Salzburg, though Romeo Castellucci‘s production could brush up on its catechism.
Da capo days of summer
San Francisco goes baroque with performances of Handel‘s Alcina, Tolomeo, and Rinaldo.
Lead balloon
At Wolf Trap Opera, a season-closing Tosca is weighed down by an incoherent setting during Italy’s Anni di piombo.
Some filth or dementia from Belle Raggio
Renée as Thaïs finding salvation while trudging through the parched Egyptian desert in off-the-shoulder La Croix atelier.
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What to our wondering ears should appear, but a 40-track Jonas Kaufmann Christmas album?
Speaking of dementia in opera, all I can think of is the extraordinary reimagined production of Béla Bartók’s chamber opera Bluebeard’s Castle that I saw at Atlanta Opera in October 2022.
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen shows that he’s at the top of a crowded pack of countertenors in two recent New York performances with Philharmonia Baroque.
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.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Bass desires
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.
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
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.
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
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.
It’s a busy summer for Vida Miknevičiūtė and Eric Cutler, the subjects of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Noch mein’ ich mir selber so sicher zu sein
Noch mein’ ich mir selber so sicher zu sein
Elina Garanča’s aborted first Ariadne may have been the headline item at the Salzburg Festival next month, but this week Parterre Box features the Zerbinetta, Ziyi Dai.
Elina Garanča’s aborted first Ariadne may have been the headline item at the Salzburg Festival next month, but this week Parterre Box features the Zerbinetta, Ziyi Dai.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Lady in waiting
Lady in waiting
One Italian soprano continues to save the day in bel canto roles at La Scala; this week Parterre Box features Marta Torbidoni.
One Italian soprano continues to save the day in bel canto roles at La Scala; this week Parterre Box features Marta Torbidoni.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Box Braid
Box Braid
Ambur Braid‘s biggest dramatic soprano assignment yet — the Dyer’s Wife in Aix — is occasion for Parterre Box to feature her in some of her old repertoire.
Ambur Braid‘s biggest dramatic soprano assignment yet — the Dyer’s Wife in Aix — is occasion for Parterre Box to feature her in some of her old repertoire.
Ilana Walder-Biesanz reports from The Santa Fe Opera, where Tobias Picker‘s latest opera falls short, a new Rodelinda scintillates, and sumptuous singing abounds across the entire repertoire.
That this performance of Verdi’s Lady Macbeth was recorded and preserved for posterity is beyond the pale.
Richard Lynn would like to bring some operatic podcast episodes of The Sewers of Paris and Die Primadonnen to your attention.
Dementia and filth in the same clip!
Shakespeare Opera Theatre presented two American operas exploring themes of hypocrisy and deception — in a church!
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
Some filth or dementia from Belle Raggio
Some filth or dementia from Belle Raggio
Renée as Thaïs finding salvation while trudging through the parched Egyptian desert in off-the-shoulder La Croix atelier.
Renée as Thaïs finding salvation while trudging through the parched Egyptian desert in off-the-shoulder La Croix atelier.
The Talk of the Town
Some filth or dementia from HBadger
Some filth or dementia from HBadger
What to our wondering ears should appear, but a 40-track Jonas Kaufmann Christmas album?
What to our wondering ears should appear, but a 40-track Jonas Kaufmann Christmas album?
The Talk of the Town
Some filth or dementia from Michael Anthonio
Some filth or dementia from Michael Anthonio
Speaking of dementia in opera, all I can think of is the extraordinary reimagined production of Béla Bartók’s chamber opera Bluebeard’s Castle that I saw at Atlanta Opera in October 2022.
Speaking of dementia in opera, all I can think of is the extraordinary reimagined production of Béla Bartók’s chamber opera Bluebeard’s Castle that I saw at Atlanta Opera in October 2022.
The Talk of the Town
Some filth or dementia from Moe Rear
Some filth or dementia from Moe Rear
That this performance of Verdi’s Lady Macbeth was recorded and preserved for posterity is beyond the pale.
That this performance of Verdi’s Lady Macbeth was recorded and preserved for posterity is beyond the pale.
Zémire et Azor, André-Ernest-Modest Grétry‘s riff on “Beauty and the Beast”, gets a rare outing in the Berkshires.
Malin Byström is a radiant water nymph in the Bayerische Staatsoper‘s house-of-horrors-set Rusalka.
Not really sure what was going on here.
Dmitri Tcherniakov‘s production of Der Freischütz in Munich may fire a few blanks, but the musicians are all on target.
Rising stars Chelsea Lehnea and Ricardo José Rivera are the protagonists of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Who doesn’t love a slightly murky archival recording?
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