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.

Show business Show business

Now that many of us are leaping to the altar unfettered by those pesky legalities of yore the problem of what to put on the bridal (or groomal) registry has become an atrocious head scratcher.  So many of us have had housekeeping set up for so long now that we really don’t want for anything.…

on October 27, 2013 at 6:39 PM
Drama queen Drama queen

Say what you will about Naxos, but this company has created a sizeable number of recordings of works on the periphery of the standard repertory and have managed to document quite a few interesting singers in the bargain-and at bargain prices.

on October 04, 2013 at 11:20 PM
Shadows on the silver screen Shadows on the silver screen

Strange as it is to encounter two such disparate works presented with the identical production concept, it’s odder still that the opera you’d think would be the slam dunk is anything but.

on September 09, 2013 at 9:37 AM
A Faustian bargain A Faustian bargain

What we have here is the grandest opera never heard.

on August 21, 2013 at 8:00 AM
Fire and water Fire and water

I’ve long been a fan of Kenneth Branagh, even though this fandom feels a bit like being a camel in the desert.

on August 08, 2013 at 12:22 PM
Run of the “Miller” Run of the “Miller”

The Tutto Verdi series from the Teatro Regio Parma may be said to relate to the great Giuseppe Verdi’s oeuvre as the burning of the library at Alexandria did to classical literature.

on July 02, 2013 at 3:30 PM
Female on the beach Female on the beach

Christian Thielemann has proved himself to be the preeminent Strauss interpreter of the current generation of conductors and he’s in striking  form here.

on June 22, 2013 at 6:01 PM
Rogo for it Rogo for it

In an ever-changing world it’s comforting to know that the Parmigiani of the Teatro Regio continue their campaign through the Verdi canon not unlike the Allied Forces’  rout of the Germans at the beginning of 1945.

on June 10, 2013 at 11:09 PM
When in Rome When in Rome

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s only opera for Rome was written to an existing libretto by the great Pietro Metastasio, L’Olimpiade, which had already  been set by Vivaldi the year previously.

on April 11, 2013 at 10:23 PM
Robber soul Robber soul

C-Major continues their full frontal attack on the Verdi catalogue with this release of I Masnadieri which, I’m thrilled to report, does not hail from the Teatro di Regio in Parma like the previous aspirants. We’ve travelled south to Naples and the Teatro di San Carlo and we’re all the better for it as the…

on February 06, 2013 at 9:53 PM
One Day more One Day more

There’s that old joke; What’s the difference between opera and sex? Punchline; you can have good sex.

on January 20, 2013 at 2:18 AM
The woman in white The woman in white

This new DVD release from EMI of the Royal Opera’s latest production of Puccini’s Tosca will no doubt be snatched up by hordes of grateful fans around the globe.

on December 02, 2012 at 11:02 PM
Who let the Doge out? Who let the Doge out?

Once again, we’re back with the Parmigiani at the Teatro Regio and their Tutto Verdi project marking the upcoming bicentennial of the great maestro’s birth.

on November 18, 2012 at 10:31 PM
Cross purposes Cross purposes

In spite of sounding like an indelicate football injury, I Lombardi alla prima crociata was only Giuseppe Verdi’s fourth opera.

on November 08, 2012 at 4:02 AM
One thousand four One thousand four

My mother asked me once, whilst staring aghast at my CD collection, why I needed so many copies of Don Giovanni.

on October 27, 2012 at 1:44 PM
Def Man Glance Def Man Glance

Since 2010 I’ve been reading nothing but horror being heaped upon the Met’s new Ring. It’s been like a cross between a cruise ship size buffet spread of internet snarking and a slasher film re-cast with music critics.

on October 19, 2012 at 3:47 PM
Smoke and mirrors Smoke and mirrors

Press quotes on the back of this new release from EMI of Georges Bizet’s masterpiece promise ”a stylish and cliché-free Carmen” and on most fronts I think it’s a fair assessment.

on September 02, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Stairway to paradise Stairway to paradise

We approach, beloveds, as unto a shrine, for these are no ordinary performances.

on August 06, 2012 at 11:15 PM
Disoriented Disoriented

The most wonderful thing about opera on video is the vicarious thrill of seeing performances of important works in the most glamorous foreign theaters in gala presentations with musicians of great renown for a piddling fraction of the cost.

on July 23, 2012 at 4:15 PM
Roma holiday Roma holiday

Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve makes its video debut with this release from C-Major which means there’s still plenty of opportunities for improvement.

on July 14, 2012 at 10:30 PM
Round midnight Round midnight

As a child I had but a few criteria that were necessary to ensure a happy entertainment. These included mostly ball-gowns, fairy godmothers and Julie Andrews, though Sally Ann Howes was acceptable in a pinch.

on June 22, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Shadow, no doubt Shadow, no doubt

Richard Strauss’s “last romantic opera,” as he called Die Frau Ohne Schatten, is and has always been a problem child.

on June 14, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Cold case Cold case

The operas of Leos Janácek have been slowly gaining ground in the world’s theatres over the past fifty years.

on June 12, 2012 at 1:54 PM
The windmills of his mind The windmills of his mind

Jules Massenet’s Don Quichotte was one of a number of commissions from the Monte Carlo Opera that occupied the composer at the end of his life.

on June 04, 2012 at 2:04 PM