Christopher Corwin
Christopher Corwin began writing for parterre box in 2011 under the pen name “DeCaffarrelli.” His work has also appeared in , The New York Times, Musical America, The Observer, San Francisco Classical Voice and BAMNotes. Like many, he came to opera via the Saturday Met Opera broadcasts which he began listening to at age 11. His particular enthusiasm is 17th and 18th century opera. Since 2015 he has curated the weekly podcast Trove Thursday on parterre box presenting live recordings.
Chris’s Cache previews Lise Davidsen‘s concert with six sopranos singing the five Wesendonck Lieder , plus a tenor interloper (Jonas Kaufmann, of course), and a mezzo (Hanna Schwarz )
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Merry Widow | Finger Lakes, NY | July 25-28
Geneva Light Opera’s production of Lehar’s The Merry Widow will feature prize-winning baritone Bryan Murray and soprano Alexis Olinyk in the superb acoustics of in the landmark Smith Opera House in Geneva, New York on July 25, 27, and 28. A small city on the north end of the largest of NY’s Finger Lakes, Geneva…
A convocation of mezzos–and a pride of tenors–produce hundreds of sixteenth notes in a bewitching Rossini showpiece
Before some important Madama Butterfly sopranos dominate the American scene in early 2024, Chris’s Cache offers live recordings of four vintage Cio-Cio-Sans, plus a brand new one: Renata Scotto; Galina Vishnevskaya, Anna Moffo, Gilda Cruz-Romo–and Sonya Yoncheva.
Florian Leopold Gassmann’s delicious romp L’Opera Seria seems the perfect New Year’s Eve choice at Chris’s Cache
Today’s Three Kings aren’t the ones who arrive in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera usually performed this time of year
Today’s collection features souvenirs of three previous Met productions of Carmen
Two short theatrical works and one sacred piece from the beguiling oeuvre of the guy who didn’t write Louise
In any case, we probably got as good a Tannhäuser cast as could be assembled these days.
A revival of Peter Konwitschny’s rightly legendary Don Carlos and Dmitri Tcherniakov’s confounding new Salome: both turned out to be unforgettable!
Chris’s Cache wraps up November with Régine Crespin’s Chicago Leonore; two rare Met Fidelios headed by Christa Ludwig and Hildegard Behrens; and a concert performance with Birgit Nilsson led by Leonard Bernstein, plus a final twist: excerpts of Carol Vaness in Leonore.
Three important daughter-stepmother pairs
Two of France’s leading Early Music ensembles recently visited New York City to perform music by some of the 17th century’s leading composers.
Two problematic 1990s Donizetti daughters
Several opera companies across the globe are marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas with performances of operas identified with her.
Five fatal Swedish/Bostonian love triangles
A veritable festival of baroque vocal music featuring two of Handel’s English works, Israel in Egypt and L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, as well as Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie.
La Cieca asked that the next installment of Chris’s Cache mark the recent passing of Michael Kaye, known to readers of this site as QuantoPainyFakor.
Chris’s Cache offers up a quintet of intriguing “forgotten” Leonora-Azucena pairings from the 1970s.
Franco Bonisolli from age 28 to 33 in complete operas by Mozart, Cimarosa, Donizetti and Massenet.
Recent discussion about the merits of Le Prophète has prompted Chris’s Cache to unearth a pirate recording of Meyerbeer’s opera with Marilyn Horne, Rita Shane and Guy Chauvet led by Charles Mackerras, along with an earlier collaboration of the mezzo and conductor: Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice in which Horne goes to hell to get back Adriana Maliponte with the help of Judith Blegen.
I can’t say it’s precisely my idea of Handel, but I’ve watched this clip at least a half dozen times!
This week Chris’s Cache features Maria Chiara, Elena Mauti-Nunziata, Rita Orlandi-Malaspina and Orianna Santunione in L’Amico Fritz, Mefistofele, Simon Boccanegra and La Fanciulla del West, respectively.
Anticipating John Eliot Gardiner’s epic tour next month, Chris’s Cache savors several versions of Berlioz’s Les Troyens.
While reading about the challenges that have faced next week’s Bayreuth opening, I realized I’m a bad Parsifal fan: while I admire the first and third acts of Wagner’s final masterpiece, I really only love the pagan second.
