Ben Miller
Ben Miller is a writer, researcher, and opera queen based in Berlin. His essays, criticism, journalism, and fiction have been published in The New York Times, VAN Magazine, Jacobin, Slate, Tin House, SAND Journal, and more. His favorite opera is Jenufa, and his personal diva is Karita Mattila, who was the Eva in his first live opera: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, at the MET, in 2001. www.benwritesthings.com.
The one, the only Fyodor Chaliapin, singing Massenet’s “Elegie” (with, I believe, a young Piatigorsky on the cello part).
Today’s listener has heard the scores of the classic Westerns that borrowed from Puccini (and Wagner!) to create the sound of the myth of the West.
Karita Mattila’s Ortrud, taut conducting, and a remarkable debut emerge from Richard Jones’s dreary Lohengrin Konzept.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
