The lute playing is perfectly timed and Tomlinson’s thwacks are ruthless and hilarious. Somehow this ungainly tune manages to be musically objectionable as well as an earworm, and a total bop to boot. The gurgling bassoon obbligato is icing one the cake!
Nothing makes me feel better than Beckmesser’s serenade
Beckmesser’s serenade never fails to amuse, particularly when sung by Thomas Allen in this ROH recording from 1997 under the late Haitink with Tomlinson, Gustafson, Winbergh, and Lippert.
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Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.