A favorite mezzo performance from Carmen Paddock
Every Baroque opera could be more feral, especially when cross-dressing is involved.
Carmen Paddock
Carmen Paddock has been opera-obsessed since the age of twelve; hailing from a rock and country music family, the name is a coincidence. An American in Scotland, she writes about film, opera, and adaptations.
Aria Force One
Ahead of the world premiere of Lincoln in the Bardo next week, Carmen Paddock looks at how presidents in opera can be both symbols of an idealized past and trenchant commentaries on the present.
A favorite bass performance from Carmen Paddock
Christopher Purves in Saul – the clarity, the range, the expression, the drama!
The best thing I saw in 2025 was The Queen of Spades
Garsington’s new production of The Queen of Spades, directed by Jack Furness, had better become a house staple.
Novel ideas
Carmen Paddock looks at contemporary opera’s prestige literary turn and what it takes for operas adopted from novels to last.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).