Blood and Gorr
Massenet’s La Navarraise in a live performance featuring Rita Gorr as Anita and George Shirley as Araquil.
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.
The most dangerous game
“Trove Thursday” presents a recording of the rare L’Olimpiade featuring Joan Caplan and Rita Shane in the two leading castrato roles.
Dancing with the stars
“Trove Thursday” presents Altre Stelle, a fascinating performance piece which includes superb renditions of excerpts from operas by Berlioz, Cherubini, Gluck and Rameau.
Happy ending
This week Trove Thursday endeavors to broaden his exposure with a bubbly performance of Il Marito Disperato starring Sylvia Geszty.
Beyond the sea
“Trove Thursday” presents Mozart’s Idomeneo with superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the title role.
Conquering hero
Today is Handel’s 332nd birthday and “Trove Thursday” celebrates with a rare live broadcast of his best-known opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
Hooray for Holy Land
Trove Thursday presents as compensation Verdi’s Jérusalem with Cecilia Gasdia, Veriano Luchetti and Silvano Carroli conducted by Donato Renzetti.
Loin des remparts de Séville
“Trove Thursday” presents an intriguingly unconventional all-star performance of Bizet’s Carmen featuring Christa Ludwig.
She doth teach the torches to burn bright!
“Trove Thursday” presents Ann Hallenberg and Franco Fagioli in the title roles of a true rarity: Giulietta e Romeo by Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli.
While you were sheeping
To mark Mozart’s 260th birthday tomorrow, “Trove Thursday” offers his infrequently performed bucolic opera Il Re Pastore with the sublime Arleen Augér as its heroine and Edith Mathis as her shepherd-lover.
La bontà in trionfo
“Trove Thursday” offers a sparkling performance of Rossini’s La Cenerentola from our nation’s capital featuring the scintillating conducting of Claudio Abbado and Lucia Valentini-Terrani in the title role.
Nadir at zenith
Les Pêcheurs de Perles with an impressive Francophone cast headed by the superb Nadir of Alain Vanzo, one of my favorite tenors.
Suivez-moi dans le temple
2017 happily brings the return of Trove Thursday with a rare and enthralling live performance of Gluck’s Alceste featuring Jessye Norman.
Hidden in plane sight
“Trove Thursday” instead presents a rare Cavalli opera, Il Xerse, from 1665, featuring the lovely Swedish mezzo Kristina Hammarström in the title role.
Statue of limitations
“Trove Thursday” has resurrected Hérold’s Zampa, ou La fiancée de marbre performed by Les Arts Florissants.
That’s how they did it
Idomeneo proved enormously moving while a much more complicated Così fan Tutte went for shallow romantic hijinks stripping that work of its darkly ambiguous disturbing view of love.
La Duchesse s’amuse
As promised, “Trove Thursday” offers Don Quichote chez la duchesse, a second nearly unknown opera based on Cervantes’ towering literary masterpiece.
Wagner, where you least expect it
“Trove Thursday” offers a Der Fliegende Holländer from New York City Opera featuring the underrated American soprano Johanna Meier.
With honor
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with an unexpected heroine: the electrifying Julia Varady, seduced and abandoned by the suavely ardent Giacomo Aragall.
Wer ein solches Weib errungen
Opera at Caramoor rallied Sunday afternoon with an admirable if erratic performance of Fidelio which was especially memorable for South African soprano Elza van den Heever’s thrilling first-ever Leonore.
A free soul
“Trove Thursday” presents Beethoven’s Leonore, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf .
A very little night music
The unevenly-beating Heart unfortunately proved less than the sum of its deluxe parts.
When the sun comes out
This year as part of Bard’s “Puccini and His World” festival audiences may witness the resurrection of Mascagni’s distinctly odd Iris.
“Troppo” notte
Thanks to the generosity of a parterre reader, “Trove Thursday” presents a rare recording from the famed Carnegie Hall series curated by Matthew Epstein to commemorate Handel’s tercentenary.
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).