“Due to illness,” Betsy Ann Bobolink is “unable” to “perform,” so the role of chat coordinator will be taken by Cesar Romero‘s bastard grandson Mervyn (not pictured), who thanks you for your indulgence.
12:00-4:00 ESPACE 2: THE INVENTOR by Bramwell Tovey — 2 F.K. The plot is intriguing, but the execution is a bit spotty.
12:10-2:30 LRT KLASIKA: RIGOLETTO from Vilnius 2 F.K. I’ve heard some good stuff out of Lithuania.
1:00-4:00 CBC TWO: THE MIKADO from Chicago — 2 F.K. This was good but not as good as I had hoped.
1:00-7:00 KBYU: DAS RHEINGOLD from San Francisco — 2 F.K. It suffers by comparison with the later three operas, all of which had Stimme.
1:00-4:30 WETA: RIGOLETTO from Washington — 2 F.K. Interest will center on Calleja as The Duke. The rest are serviceable.
1:00-4:30 NPR World of Opera: LUCREZIA BORGIA from Washington — 4 F.K. With Fleming and Grigolo in the cast, how could this be anything but a slugfest.
1:00-:30 WFMT Network: DEAD MAN WALKING from Houston — 2 F.K. I haven’t heard this, but the cast looks promising.
1:00-6:00 WQXR: GOTTERDAMMERUNG from San Francisco — 2 F.K. Okay, this is prime real estate. Stimme’ll knock your socks off.
2:00-6:00 BBC 3, also RADIO CLASICA DE ESPANA AT 2:00: Placido Domingo Gala — 4 F.K. just because it’s Domingo. A similar effort by a lesser mortal might pass unnoticed.
2:00-5:30 DEUTSCHLANDRADIO KULTUR: LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN from Munich — 4 F.K. Everybody gets through it fine, but it really should have been better.
2:00-6:00 FRANCE MUSIQUE: LULU from Paris — 2 F.K. Aikin, Larmore, Streit, Schone, Grundheber, Schonewandt. These folks all have good track records, but can they be molded into a Golden Age performance.
2:00-5:30 LATVIA RADIO KLASIKA: MITRIDATE from Munich — 2 F.K. Good talent wasted on an opera that would languish on the shelf if it weren’t by Mozart.
2:00-5:00 NRK KLASSISK: LA GIOCONDA from Amsterdam — 3 F.K. Westbroek has center stage but d’Intino is the winner.
2:00-6:00 RTP ANTENA 2: LA FORZA DEL DESTINO — The Met, 1956 — 2 F.K. Did they really sing better back in those days? Yes!
2:15-4:15 SVERIGES RADIO P2: WOZZECK from Norway, I think — A dark horse. I have no data to rate it.
2:15-3:45 YLE KLASSINEN: Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 — 3 F.K. A commercial release. Mahler’s 8th is always an event, except when Ozawa is conducting.
2:30-5:15 BARTOK RADIO: CARMEN from Hungary. 2000. I haven’t heard this, and there is not one name in the cast that I recognize. Lightning in a bottle or total boredom.
2:30-6:00 CESKY ROZHLAS VLTAVA: Dvorak’s ARMIDA — This station has scheduled all the Dvorak operas, and this one cames from 1956, the Golden Age of Czech singers with Ivo Zidek leading the pack.
3:00-7:00 ESPACE 2, also RADIO SLOVENIA TRETJE: THE JACOBIN — 2 F.K. If you don’t know this opera, maybe it’s time you tried it.
3:00-7:00 KLARA: Enesco’s EDIPE — Several Parterre regulars have extolled this opera. I’ve heard three different versions and have been excited by each one.
2:30-5:00 RADIO OESTERREICH: ADELAIDE DI BORGOGNA from Pesaro. 2 F.K. It just doesn’t quite catch fire.
3:00-8:00 LYRIC FM: GIANNI DI PARIGI — Word has filtered back that Edgardo Rochas is a tenor to watch. Here’s our chance to find out.
3:00-7:15 RADIO STEPHANSDOM: TRISTAN UND ISOLDE — 2 F.K. It’s the Karajan 1972 recording with Vickers and Dernesch. For some people this is a classic. They have a right to their opinion.
Where to meet? Where else but La Casa della Cieca?
