Parterre Box
A friend who frequents these pages recently turned me on to a Donizetti cantata that I had never heard of: his setting of the speech of Dante‘s Conte Ugolino.
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.
Leyla Gencer cussing out Shirley Verrett’s Elisabetta so convincingly the audience spontaneously breaks out in applause and bravas.
This performance has been canceled because of a strike.
In 1972, when I was 12 years old, my mother took me to the Salzburg Festival.
A live broadcast of Prokofiev‘s opera from Vienna’s Theater an der Wien
As tenor Pene Pati continues his Rodolfo-across-America tour, parterre box presents a snippet of his role debut as Werther from earlier this year.
One of my favorite scenes from Donizetti is the Act I finale from Anna Bolena.
La Favorita is my favorita. Whether it’s Favorita or Favorite, I love them both.
Opera Philadelphia announced today its 50th Anniversary 2025-2026 season, the second under the leadership of Anthony Roth Costanzo, but the first to bear his distinctive imprint.
Fiorenza Cossotto in her prime had few equals, particularly in the Italian repertoire
A live broadcast from Venice’s Teatro la Fenice
Donizetti wrote so much great music, it’s hard to single out a favorite opera, or even a preferred aria!
A live broadcast from New York
After her Mimìs in the springtime Bohème, she will perhaps be less under the radar here.
Ida Miccolis (1920-2005), Brazilian soprano, never or rarely sang outside Brazil.
Florian Leopold Gassmann‘s rare comedy live from Milan
One of the great Rossini sopranos of the 1980s and sadly under-recorded in that rep.
One might be surprised to not see the blusteringly charismatic Saioa Hernández mentioned amidst the litany of favorite under-appreciated sopranos. Then one hears what she’s been up to lately.
A live broadcast from New York
Reading Dorothy Kirsten‘s autobiography twice last year made me revisit her work anew.
I discovered this magical soprano when I was a teenager, and came across a mixed program RCA Victor LP recital.
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.
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.