squirrel

On the heels of this, may I direct everyone’s attention to a funny and fascinating article about Stefan Herheim‘s production of Lohengrin from last spring at Berliner Staatsoper? Now we know what to do with those old costumes and sets that gather dust! [via the wellsungs]

on November 23, 2009 at 11:41 AM

Squirrel was expecting boobs! People, there were no boobs, and for that, I was a little disappointed.

on November 22, 2009 at 8:46 PM

The results of the Repertory Poll are in!  Squirrel asked which three Old Operas you would most like to see staged at the New New Met, and the people have spoken! Results after the jump.

on November 20, 2009 at 1:06 PM

(No, not that again.) The San Diego Opera, boldly exploring cutting-edge trends in dramaturgy, is producing a Twitter version of the complete history of opera.

on November 19, 2009 at 2:33 PM

So, which composer wants to jump on this peach of a libretto? “The Met’s fund-raising office had kept in touch with Ms. Webster since then. It sent her books about the birds of Central Park; a volume called Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park.”

on November 19, 2009 at 1:16 PM

My post about Nielsen’s Maskarade outraged only a few of you, and inspired a passionate discussion about what works we’d like to see at the New New Met. (Thank you, Hans Lick, for your very complete wish list!) You are each now invited to vote for your three most longed-for revivals or premieres at the…

on November 18, 2009 at 11:05 PM

The Met’s new production of Janacek’s From the House of the Dead sets high standards for the company, but as an indicator of the Gelb Era, it may be too good to be true.

on November 18, 2009 at 12:14 AM

They want it. The career. They want it really bad. So we learn from Susan Froemke’s Metropolitan Opera-commissioned documentary about the participants in the final round of the 2007 MetNational Council Auditions, which is out on DVD this month. Our own doyenne reviewed the film when it was screened as an HD theatrical event, and…

on November 16, 2009 at 11:37 AM

Squirrel is using his Parterre Pulpit to make a pitch. If the Met wants to produce a work that has never been seen in New York, they could do worse than a new production of Carl Nielsen‘s excellent comic opera Maskarade. It’s easy listening for sure, melodically akin to La boheme or Lehar, but marked…

on November 13, 2009 at 7:34 PM

The Berlin Philharmonic brought a spooky Halloween treat to New York on Thursday night, just a few days late. They are at Carnegie Hall for a three-night residency, offering the complete Brahms symphonies along with selected earlier works by that ugly duckling of Brahms disciples, Arnold Schoenberg. They are also far from home during Berlin’s…

on November 13, 2009 at 2:25 PM

The premiere of Hugo Weisgall’s 1993 Esther at New York City Opera occupied my mind for several days – though maybe not for the best reasons.  As I wrote earlier, it is a work that emanates, belatedly, from what might be called The Twelve-Tone Industrial Complex, that uptown conservatory lobby of the 1950s and 60s, which was…

on November 12, 2009 at 5:16 PM

Doubling down on its artistic mission, New York City Opera begins a tenuous season with a turgid Bible drama.

on November 08, 2009 at 7:52 PM

Cecilia Bartoli’s latest vanity release bucks protocol to present an album heavy on historical concept. The classical recording industry has long feasted on the popularity of operatic solo records, especially during the last few years of industry-wide decline in CD sales. Incidentally, as record companies run out of ways to sell the standard repertoire to…

on October 31, 2009 at 12:57 AM