Parterre Box
Eleonora Burrato and Jonathan Tetelman lead a performance from Berlin recorded last week with Kirill Petrenko conducting
STEMdiva status
Ahead of a special boozy, bawdy Valentine’s Day concert, artistic director of Opera Lafayette Patrick Quigley speaks with soprano Maya Kherani about her journey from MIT to rising American Baroque star.
A performance recorded last fall in New York
After seeing The Fifth Element I wanted to see Inva Mula live, which I did (Nanetta, two years after the movie) and she certainly did not disappoint!
While the thoroughly established Lawrence Brownlee reprises his familiar Count Almaviva in the Met’s Barbiere di Siviglia, parterre box calls your attention to another Mr. Brownlee making waves: Nicholas Brownlee.
One of the most moving scenes in film, accompanied by Callas‘s iconic singing.
Sofia Coppola‘s cult classic Marie Antoinette is best known for blending a whimsically baroque visuals with a post-punk score.
As a beginning freshman in college at CSU Long Beach, I was cast in my first opera – the chorus for L’Elisir d’amore ( performed in English as “The Elixir of Love”).
This early performance of Anna Bolena’s final scene is just one of the most poised and magical pieces of bel canto singing I’ve ever heard. It must have been extraordinary to hear her at the outset of her career.
Pavarotti in his prime – He makes this so-familiar aria new and glowing.
A live broadcast from Milan of the world premiere of Francesco Filidei’s opera based on Umberto Eco‘s novel
Sigh! I think most of you realized I would pick this one. Got that “Donizetti and Bellini Heroines” from the Record Club of America when I was in my teens and playing it to death.
A live broadcast from New York
A performance recorded earlier this month at the Salzburg Easter Festival.
This to me is everything that makes Donizetti the great dramatist of the bel canto era.
When a revival of Handel‘s Ariodante in Boston coincides with the HD relay of the Met’s current revival of Le nozze di Figaro, parterre box can’t help but share a bit of Olga Kulchynska, the Met’s Susanna, singing the florid “Volate amori.”
The brave and beautiful Maartje Offers – best known from the potted Ring – lends her charismatic voice to Donizetti here.
Maybe this is an obvious choice, but this is the sort of performance that every opera queen dreams of attending: an unknown work being performed by a cast of largely unknown singers.
“Strauss makes me feel loved and like I am part of a world that is supernatural and extremely special,” says Elza van den Heever, the Met’s upcoming Salome, in a new feature at the Observer by parterre‘s very own Christopher Corwin.
A live broadcast from New York
Corinne Winters dons the habit in a live broadcast of a unique double bill from Rome
Donizetti’s never been a desert island composer of mine, but he comes close when I hear Edita Gruberova in her prime.
Assuming someone else will pick Leyla Gencer‘s legendary “Vil bastarda”, I’ll go with another clip featuring robust audience participation.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
A Baroque Valentine’s with Opera Lafayette | Feb | DC & NYC
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.