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.

Silver minings playbook Silver minings playbook

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

By on July 05, 2024 at 9:00 AM
13 comments
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. 

By on June 21, 2024 at 9:00 AM
17 comments
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.

By on June 17, 2024 at 9:00 AM
49 comments
Speaking of tradition Speaking of tradition

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

By on June 05, 2024 at 9:00 AM
18 comments
On the Silk Road again On the Silk Road again

The melodrama was fabulous.

By on May 22, 2024 at 9:00 AM
29 comments
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.

By on May 17, 2024 at 9:00 AM
41 comments
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.

By on May 10, 2024 at 9:00 AM
57 comments
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.

By on April 23, 2024 at 9:00 AM
29 comments
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.

By on April 16, 2024 at 9:00 AM
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Champagne tastes Champagne tastes

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

By on April 10, 2024 at 9:00 AM
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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.

By on February 27, 2024 at 9:00 AM
7 comments
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.

By on February 13, 2024 at 9:00 AM
89 comments
Contents fragile Contents fragile

Perhaps the greatest souvenir of her art there is.

By on December 05, 2023 at 10:00 AM
67 comments
Crowe’s feat Crowe’s feat

I can still vividly remember the first time the music of George Frideric Handel made an impression on me.

By on November 27, 2023 at 9:00 AM
58 comments
Flores para los muertos Flores para los muertos

Despite this being the first full-length opera for Gabriela Lena Frank, there’s no lack of experience across the creative team which, along with favorable reviews for the production, contributed to high levels of anticipation.

By on November 23, 2023 at 9:00 AM
6 comments
You’re better off without me, mein Hair You’re better off without me, mein Hair

I hate to say I nearly cringe at the thought of Gioachino Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

By on October 24, 2023 at 9:00 AM
27 comments
They’re projecting They’re projecting

I love it, truly, just not that much.

By on October 09, 2023 at 9:00 AM
22 comments
Tosca, two ways Tosca, two ways

When our friends at Naxos and C Major announced near-dueling releases of Puccini’s “shabby little shocker,” I was ready with my critic’s pen dipped in bile.

By on September 11, 2023 at 9:00 AM
36 comments
Candid theatricality Candid theatricality

Out of sheer morbid curiosity last evening I pulled up the “orders” page of my Amazon account and searched Otello to discover that over the past 11 years. I’ve ordered 15 items with that title (one as recently as last night!)

By on May 31, 2023 at 9:00 AM
39 comments
I shall be released I shall be released

Welcome, beloveds, to the Jessye Norman Memorial Museum. I’ll be the docent for your tour today.

By on April 04, 2023 at 10:37 AM
49 comments
Slow simmer Slow simmer

This was by far my most satisfying experience with Pelléas et Mélisande for a multitude of reasons and I encourage anyone who’s even mildly curious to find their way to the Music Center for a very rich experience.

By on March 30, 2023 at 11:32 AM
64 comments
Hear the trumpets sound! Hear the trumpets sound!

Frankly I thought Sondra Radvanovsky had reached her pinnacle with her Norma but I was apparently mistaken. I’m happy to say her Turandot is completely next-level.

By on March 11, 2023 at 8:00 AM
90 comments
A delicate balance A delicate balance

For anyone who thought that Downton Abbey, with its plot lines divided between the gentry and their faithful (or not-so) servants was somehow unique, that particular tale, and lo its many variations, has been told in one form or another since Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais put quill to paper in 1778 with La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro.

By on February 06, 2023 at 8:00 AM
14 comments
The color of Monet The color of Monet

When I saw that Richard Bonynge AC CBE, conductor and musicologist supreme, had authored a book titled Chalet Monet about the home he shared with his wife, La Dame Joan Sutherland OM AC DBE, in Les Avants, Switzerland I practically had to wipe my chin.

By on January 30, 2023 at 11:08 AM
52 comments