Podcasts

Lovers are very special people Lovers are very special people

Chris’s Cache previews the Met’s imminent revival of Roméo et Juliette with three pairs of doomed lovers

Decidedly un-HIP Decidedly un-HIP

Chris’s Cache celebrates Ewa Podles‘s long connection with Handel by featuring her in three complete, decidedly un-HIP operas spanning over twenty years

Excessive use of <em>forza</em> Excessive use of <em>forza</em>

Three live recordings of Verdi’s fateful opera: one featuring a cast I heard in the distant past, another from Paris just over a year ago with a cast completely different from the Met’s, as well as the complete St. Petersburg version

Donna Anna and the Dynamos Donna Anna and the Dynamos

The new Opera News section of OPERA magazine already seems to be getting smaller, but the March issue features a long interview with Carol Vaness about Donna Anna.

Illegal ‘Tenda’ Illegal ‘Tenda’

A trio of live Bellini recordings featuring Mirella Freni, June Anderson, and Angela Meade in the title role

Just call me ‘Engel’ Just call me ‘Engel’

Chris’s Cache previews Lise Davidsen‘s concert with six sopranos singing the five Wesendonck Lieder , plus a tenor interloper (Jonas Kaufmann, of course), and a mezzo (Hanna Schwarz )

Rondo and rondo and rondo we go Rondo and rondo and rondo we go

A convocation of mezzos–and a pride of tenors–produce hundreds of sixteenth notes in a bewitching Rossini showpiece

Siam giunte, F.B. Pinkerton Siam giunte, F.B. Pinkerton

Before some important Madama Butterfly sopranos dominate the American scene in early 2024, Chris’s Cache offers live recordings of four vintage Cio-Cio-Sans, plus a brand new one: Renata Scotto; Galina Vishnevskaya, Anna Moffo, Gilda Cruz-Romo–and Sonya Yoncheva.

Mama is gonna see to it Mama is gonna see to it

Florian Leopold Gassmann’s delicious romp L’Opera Seria seems the perfect New Year’s Eve choice at Chris’s Cache

Field and fountain, moor and Montemezzi Field and fountain, moor and Montemezzi

Today’s Three Kings aren’t the ones who arrive in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera usually performed this time of year

Les mêmes chansons, les mêmes refrains Les mêmes chansons, les mêmes refrains

Today’s collection features souvenirs of three previous Met productions of Carmen

Myth and meaning Myth and meaning

Two short theatrical works and one sacred piece from the beguiling oeuvre of the guy who didn’t write Louise

Jailhouse Roccos Jailhouse Roccos

Chris’s Cache wraps up November with Régine Crespin’s Chicago Leonore; two rare Met Fidelios headed by Christa Ludwig and Hildegard Behrens; and a concert performance with Birgit Nilsson led by Leonard Bernstein, plus a final twist: excerpts of Carol Vaness in Leonore.

Step and repeat Step and repeat

Three important daughter-stepmother pairs

Les ‘Filles’ mal gardées Les ‘Filles’ mal gardées

Two problematic 1990s Donizetti daughters

Portrait of a lady on fire Portrait of a lady on fire

Several opera companies across the globe are marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas with performances of operas identified with her.

Balls to the wall Balls to the wall

Five fatal Swedish/Bostonian love triangles

Special handeling Special handeling

A veritable festival of baroque vocal music featuring two of Handel’s English works, Israel in Egypt and L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, as well as Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie.

Michael Kaye’s Puccini Michael Kaye’s Puccini

La Cieca asked that the next installment of Chris’s Cache mark the recent passing of Michael Kaye, known to readers of this site as QuantoPainyFakor.

Se non è vero, è ben ‘Trovatore’ Se non è vero, è ben ‘Trovatore’

Chris’s Cache offers up a quintet of intriguing “forgotten” Leonora-Azucena pairings from the 1970s.

Bonisolli: the early years Bonisolli: the early years

Franco Bonisolli from age 28 to 33 in complete operas by Mozart, Cimarosa, Donizetti and Massenet.

Horne aplenty Horne aplenty

Recent discussion about the merits of Le Prophète has prompted Chris’s Cache to unearth a pirate recording of Meyerbeer’s opera with Marilyn Horne, Rita Shane and Guy Chauvet led by Charles Mackerras, along with an earlier collaboration of the mezzo and conductor: Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice in which Horne goes to hell to get back Adriana Maliponte with the help of Judith Blegen.

Remember my forgotten soprano Remember my forgotten soprano

This week Chris’s Cache features Maria Chiara, Elena Mauti-Nunziata, Rita Orlandi-Malaspina and Orianna Santunione in L’Amico Fritz, Mefistofele, Simon Boccanegra and La Fanciulla del West, respectively.

Women on the Virgil of a nervous breakdown Women on the Virgil of a nervous breakdown

Anticipating John Eliot Gardiner’s epic tour next month, Chris’s Cache savors several versions of Berlioz’s Les Troyens.