Future plans for ur-diva Ewa Podles include Azucena in Il trovatore at Caramoor (July 2007) with Julianna D’Giacomo, Simon Neill, Daniel Sutin and Daniel Mobbs; then Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia in the spring of 2008 opposite Edita Gruberoba, Jose Bros and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo.

A company debuts in Manhattan when Ottocento Opera presents a concert of arias and songs by Giovanni Pacini and Saverio Mercadante on Sunday, February 11 at 7:00 PM. The venue is Christ & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 120 West 69th Street. For more information, email [email protected].

A propos of the death of Gian Carlo Menotti, an essay from the G. Schirmer web site by Paul Wittke. Actually it’s specifically about Samuel Barber, but it does dwell at some length on the composers’ romantic relationship.