Come sail away with me
On the heels of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film adaptation, John Danaher muses on operatic iterations of Homer’s Odyssey.
John Danaher
John Danaher lives in Naples, FL, where he has retired to read all of the books he was supposed to read in college. He attended a performance of Rigoletto at the New York City Opera when he was ten years old and was hooked: “Why are they putting that lady in a bag,” he asked as Gilda was being abducted. John’s live opera highlight was seeing the legendary Leonie Rysanek at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Kostelnicka in Janacek’s Jenufa—the house almost literally was brought down. He enjoys tennis and traveling, catching opera performances on the road whenever he can.
Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor
I trust, fellow Parterre readers, that we can all agree that Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor.
There are no dead
John Danaher pays an operatic tribute to the writings of James McCourt, an author who captured the spirit of opera as queer and dangerous like no other.
A favorite Verdi performance from John Danaher
My favorite Verdi performance is the iconic 1960 RCA recording of Otello with Jon Vickers in the title role and the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of the masterly Tullio Serafin.
Once I was a schlepper, now I’m Miss Mazeppa
John Danaher on the world-premiere recording of Clémence de Grandval‘s wild and worthy Mazeppa, the latest release from the operatic archaeologists at Palazzetto Bru Zane.
More perfect union
Strong performances at Opera Naples can’t overcome the cringey nostalgia of Derrick Wang‘s Scalia/Ginsburg.
Rave reviews
Hoping for a “Tristan for the ages” in New York next month, John Danaher considers five versions of Tristan’s Act III “Muss ich dich so verstehn” for “Perspectives on an Aria.”
Carmen, again?
Gulfshore Opera’s vigorous production of Carmen answers a familiar question.
In the beginning
In Jacopo Peri’s seminal Euridice, the Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera made a compelling case for putting you in the room where it happened.
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).