Quick bright things
Born on this day in 1927 soprano Marie Collier.
Questo e Quello
Broadcast: Aida
Today’s broadcast of Aida from the Met begins at 12:30 PM, as does the traditional chat.
Plane and fancy
On this day in 1738 Handel’s Serse premiered in London.
Charfreitagzauber
parterre box revives a classic Good Friday tradition.
Through a glass vaguely
Any production of Der Rosenkavalier that can transform the usually excruciating first half of the third act into a hilarious romp already has my vote.
Il suon de nova voce lusinghiera
Happy 59th birthday soprano Aprile Millo.
“Nicht heut, nicht morgen!”
But enough about Renée Fleming‘s farewell.
Mountain high, valley low
Be wary of operas that are famous for just one aria or just one famous opinion.
Their sound is gone out into all lands
“Trove Maundy Thursday” offers a recent un-HIP version of Handel’s Messiah.
We are all born mad. Some remain so
Born on this day in 1906 playwright Samuel Beckett.
How do you solve a problem like Medea?
I was puzzled by my initial exposure to the Medea of Aribert Reimann, a work of 2010.
Mai Tosca alla scena meno tragica fu
The Met promises eight months from now a new production of Tosca and insiders are already betting that Kristine Opolais as the titular Roman diva may well be replaced before opening night.
‘Ja, ja’ land
We leave behind the Vienna of the 1740s, the time of breeches, fans and white wigs.
A “Juive’ for the 21st century
A brilliant production of La Juive like that of Peter Konwitschny generalizes the message that mindless hate does not pay and the mindless mob is always the enemy of civilization.
Now and for always
Happy 84th birthday soprano Montserrat Caballé.
And in the ‘how’
Our selected Rosenkavalier video overview closes out the 20th-century selections, crosses the millennial mark, and includes the first of our performances to depart from the opera’s prescribed 18th-century setting.
L’ambigua
All right, so Renée Fleming says she’s not retiring from opera at the moment, and who should know better than she herself?
Hold your peace
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostrdge, and Thomas Hampson in an incredibly moving performance from the 2013 Salzburger Festspiele.
Just duet
Lyric Opera of Chicago presented a highly anticipated joint recital featuring tenor Lawrence Brownlee, bass-baritone Eric Owens, and accompanist Craig Terry.
Hello, Illya!
On this day in 1967 the musical Illya Darling starring Melina Mercouri opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.
Today or tomorrow or the day after that
“Time is a strange thing,” the lady observes, to a young man who cannot begin to understand what she is talking about.
Mister Fabulous, that’s you
Mr. Fabiano proceeded to pour gasoline over the audience and toss a lit match into the crowd with his rendition of “Granada.”
No good deed goes unpunished
Born on this day in 1903 playwright, politician, diplomat, and advisor to Presidents Clare Boothe Luce.
When women go wrong, men go right after them
On this day in 1928, the melodrama Diamond Lil, written by and starring Mae West, opened at the Royale Theater, to run 176 performances.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).