More people should listen to Karan Armstrong
Never saw her in anything, only on You Tube videos and in a few recordings.
By Windy City Operaman
111 comments
Parterre Box
More people should listen to Renée Doria
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!
By Belfagor
85 comments
More people should listen to Elisabete Matos
… as Minnie in La fanciulla del west
By Gregory Munna
75 comments
Alcina
The opening night of a new production live from the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.
Kát’a Kabanová
Corinne Winters sings the title role in Janácek‘s opera live from Munich.
More people should listen to Pilar Lorengar
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.
By Patrick Lenaghan
62 comments
Laffont Grand Finals Concert
The conclusion of the Metropolitan Opera’s annual competition, live from New York
Bel Canto Sunday Matinée
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
More people should listen to Martile Rowland
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(?).
By Leyla Gender-Bender
136 comments
Beware the ides of March
But two weeks remain for readers to stoke the fires of daily discussion over at The Talk of the Town!
Fidelio
A live broadcast from New York – and Lise Davidsen‘s final broadcast before her maternity leave!
Norma
Federica Lombardi is Norma in a performance recorded in Vienna last month.
More people should listen to Joyce Guyer
Joyce Guyer’s silvery soprano, impeccable musicianship and beguiling stage presence made her an invaluable member of the Met roster in the late 1990s and early 2000s, appearing most frequently in harmony with others in such assignments as Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Woglinde in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and as a Parsifal Flower Maiden.
By Peter Russell
57 comments
‘Do’ or die
Hoping to speed up the arrival of spring, parterre box coaxes you to Michael Spyres‘s blazing pira with an in-house sampling of his Manrico from last fall’s Il trovatore in Houston.
More people should listen to Lianna Haroutounian
Although not exactly unknown, why she isn’t a big star is mysterious to me.
By Tim Meijers
55 comments
More people should listen to Karina Gauvin
I first encountered Karina Gauvin in 2003 in the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Conradi’s Ariadne. It does not happen often that I encounter an unknown singer with such a gorgeous sheen to their voice. Her performance was a knockout.
By Last Castrato
40 comments
More people should listen to Eugenia Burzio
Eugenia Burzio is the most demented soprano on record, for me at least.
By Richard Lynn
75 comments
Lyric Opera of Chicago 2025-26
Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its 2025-26 season, its first complete one under its new General Director, President & CEO John Mangum.
More people should listen to Suzanne Adams
Such clean, beautifully poised technique, rich timbre, gorgeous agility…the anti-Melba
By Belle Raggio
85 comments
More people should listen to Chelsea Lehnea
A currently active dramatic coloratura who has the voice and technique for Odabella! how often do we see that?
By Sophie
107 comments
More people should listen to Maureen O’Flynn
I first saw her perform with Portland Opera in Lucia. I subsequently saw her in Traviata, also in Portland. Later, I saw her as both Gilda and Juliette as the Met.
By TildyDiva
79 comments
