Parterre Box
Maria Caniglia sings with unabashed commitment and honesty. She sings as if the music was born with her.
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.
All disciples of the box are reminded one final time to furnish operatic discussion material for the next quarter of The Talk of the Town
Aga Mikolaj (born Agnieszka Beata Mikolajczyk) sang Strauss and Mozart with a gorgeous, shimmering tone.
Not exactly obscure, but she has such elegance and poise
Hilda Harris and Catherine Malfitano in an 1981 broadcast to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ravel‘s opera
Karolina Bengtsson is just at the beginning – we are going to hear from her, I am quite sure…
Karina Canellakis conducts Janácek‘s final opera live from Amsterdam.
Recent rapturous musings about Huw Montague Rendall and curiosity about Aigul Akhmetshina‘s return to the Met as Rosina in May have prompted the box to share a recent sample of the pair in “Dunque io son.”
Never saw her in anything, only on You Tube videos and in a few recordings.
For me, Renée Doria epitomizes the best of French style – pointed diction, a slightly lemon-y timbre that cuts through any cloying sentimentality…..love her!
… as Minnie in La fanciulla del west
Corinne Winters sings the title role in Janácek‘s opera live from Munich.
She demonstrated impressive artistry in repertoire that ranged from Spanish music to Mozart and Verdi. I only saw her twice at the Met in Mozart but they were both memorable performances.
The conclusion of the Metropolitan Opera’s annual competition, live from New York
parterre‘s protean publisher and historical singing authority Nick Scholl sits down with the Bel Canto Boot Camp team to discuss the old school and what makes for good filth
A drama/trauma-tic soprano in the model of Gencer and Olivero, Martile Rowland sang a brilliant Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux (a last minute replacement for Zampieri, another controversial pick) at a concert, did half a Puritani at the Met, and sang the other “Gencer” roles such as Paolina in I Martiri, the title roles in Caterina Cornaro and Linda di Chamounix, and then retired to teach in the midwest somewhere(?).
But two weeks remain for readers to stoke the fires of daily discussion over at The Talk of the Town!
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.
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.