Patrick Mack

Patrick Mack starting listening to opera as a teenager to the total bewilderment of his rock and roll mother. He sang leading roles in the opera departments of Santa Monica College and UCLA and for two years in the Baltimore Symphony Chorus. In 2003 he joined the tenor section of The Verdi Chorus which has been giving young singers paid performance opportunities for over 30 years. He has served on their Board of
Directors since 2012 and handles their publicity, marketing, and Facebook page. Patrick is a luxury cruise consultant with All-Travel in
Los Angeles and was honored as one of the Top 25 Travel Agents in the country in 2015 by Travel Agent Magazine. Having weaned himself from an
early age on the musical opinions of Andrew Porter in the New Yorker, he has been wielding the critics pen on Parterre.com since 2011.
His singing of the national anthem has never failed to impress those standing closest to him at any public event he attends.

Blue Saturday Blue Saturday

A grand concert from Angel Blue has Patrick Mack wondering, “where’s her crossover album?”

<em>The Women</em> are like that <em>The Women</em> are like that

A stylish and funny Così fan tutte at LA Opera is a pretty glam affair, according to Patrick Mack.

Goddess in three persons Goddess in three persons

Patrick Mack looks back on “a great, nay, historic evening,” Renata Scotto‘s 1981 performance of Il trittico, now newly available on Met Opera on Demand.

Duet to me one more time Duet to me one more time

Patrick Mack reviews yet another Puccini album from Jonas Kaufmann

Mixte blessings Mixte blessings

I was just moderately excited when LA Opera announced that French tenor Benjamin Bernheim would be coming to concertize at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, 90210.

My Verona My Verona

It surprises even me how some operas have eluded me in live performance even after lo, these many years. One of them is Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

Draculette reborn Draculette reborn

Happy was I to attend the Celebrity Opera Series presentation Saturday night at BroadStage, mere blocks from my humble abode in Santa Monica as Anglela Gheorghiu was making an eagerly awaited return for the first time since her debut here in 2013.

Unnecessary performance problems Unnecessary performance problems

Patrick Mack on the iconic Ethan Mordden‘s career and his first book on opera in 30 years – and it appears that time has mostly stopped in the Mordden manse.

Star of the shoji screen Star of the shoji screen

My vision may have been slightly blurry at the end.

Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare Sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare

Don’t cry for me, Birgit Nilsson

All dolled up All dolled up

When my editor suggested to me a round-up of my favorite recordings of Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann I was très, très, intrigued.

Silver minings playbook Silver minings playbook

Some operas carry around the shadow of their most famous interpreters more than others.

The eras tour The eras tour

She can’t put her foot on the gas the way she used to but there’s still plenty of fuel in that tank. 

Four frightened people Four frightened people

As an opera fanatic who was baptized by the blood of Leontyne Price, the Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi appeared on my radar fairly soon after I started delving into the operatic canon.

Speaking of tradition Speaking of tradition

You can imagine my surprise at encountering an almost wholly traditional staging with one teensy difference.

On the Silk Road again On the Silk Road again

The melodrama was fabulous.

I’m a stranger here myself I’m a stranger here myself

In 1982 I saw Turandot at the San Francisco Opera, the year after I became an opera fan, and it was my first live opera.

Come to the record store in old Peking Come to the record store in old Peking

In the lead up to LA Opera’s mounting of Turandot on May 18th (hooray!) I thought I’d touch on some of my favorite recordings and new re-masters I’ve discovered. I have them all.

Dinosaur surviving the crunch Dinosaur surviving the crunch

I have a confession and you may need to sit down for it: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita was one of the gateway drugs to my eventual opera fandom.

Pulling some strings Pulling some strings

When my press invite came for the Book of Mountains and Seas, the collaboration between Chinese born contemporary composer Huang Ruo, the vocal ensemble Ars Nova Copenhagen, and master puppeteer and production designer Basil Twist, I was in.

Champagne tastes Champagne tastes

Oh, La traviata, how do I love thee? Let me count the recordings.

Small but mighty Small but mighty

One of the first things James Conlon did when he took over the reins as Music Director of LA Opera was create the “Recovered Voices” project, producing operas that had been suppressed by the Nazis.

A three-hour tour A three-hour tour

We may all be armchair Handelians, but some of us are more used to it than others.

Contents fragile Contents fragile

Perhaps the greatest souvenir of her art there is.