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I think this was the last time that Dessay was truly great. From then on, I found it to be a case of diminishing returns. I wish this had been the HD that was recorded and released. Her later Lucia...
"Don Pasquale has rarely been mounted expressly to showcase its Norina" Would that had been true of the schlocky NP the Met mounted in 1978-9 for the remains of Sills' voice--...
Loved this Donizetti duet from the “Met at home”. Donizetti fared very well on this program with Erin’s Morley’s aria from Fille du Regiment also displaying her (quite impressive) piano skills as...
Did anyone here hear Gianni Raimondi live? He seems to me a major otr nearly major tenor who didn't record that much due to the competition. His Met career lasted 1965-69: Rodolfo, Edgardo...
Sad to learn that Bobby Banas--an eternal embodiment of teenage cool, though he was 30 or 31 when he choreographed and danced that Nitty Gritty--died last July. He appeared on B'way once, as...
Fun trivia: Nicholas and Vladimir Nab*o*kov (despite what Sting sings, the name is pronounced "nah-BOH-kuhv" were descended from the composer Carl Heinrich Graun ( 1704-59).
Just a mention that Carlos Chausson, the Spanish bass-baritone who I believe is pictured above is 75 years-old. That is getting into Domingo-like career longevity - also Leo Nucci, Giuseppe Taddei...
On this date in history: IN 1521, the trial of Martin Luther over his teachings began during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. Initially intimidated, he asks for time to reflect before answering...
FWIW I wasn't a Dessay fan based on her recordings. I could hear from the very beginning that she was going to run into problems and it set my teeth on edge and made it hard for me to...
And meanwhile people like Lidia Fridman and Carmela Remigio sing it all the time, and it passes completely without comment and nobody's career ends and nobody dies. Almost like it's just...
This canard that everyone is suddenly singing Norma is making me laugh. It’s just absolutely nothing new. Margaret Price sang it. Scotto sang it. Eaglen sang it. Sills. It’s sung by Fiordiligis and...
Didn't she only work at the Met for two or three years? Of course she would need a work permit, but that's not impossible with the support of a $300 million arts institution's hiring...
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
Yannick leads The Philadelphia Orchestra, superstars Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton, and world-class singers in a rare concert performance that reveals every detail and nuance of this richly harmonic score. Experience the passion and cold-hearted revenge of this scandalous opera. Get tickets now!
Yannick leads The Philadelphia Orchestra, superstars Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton, and world-class singers in a rare concert performance that reveals every detail and nuance of this richly harmonic score. Experience the passion and cold-hearted revenge of this scandalous opera. Get tickets now!