Me muero, me sale una hernia!
Born on this day in 1868 playwright Edmond Rostand.
Questo e Quello
Metamorphoses
Leos Janacek composed Adventures of Vixen Sharp-Ears, with its singing forest creatures of many species, in 1922-23.
Master of the house
Incoming Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin “plans to open his first season with a new production of Verdi’s Aida starring Anna Netrebko and to start the following season with Ms. Netrebko as Strauss’s Salome.”
The sky’s the limit
On this day in 1889 the Eiffel Tower officially opened in Paris.
Broadcast: Eugene Onegin
The cher public (pictured) will surely all gather this evening to discuss the broadcast of the Met’s season premiere of Eugene Onegin.
Blood and Gorr
Massenet’s La Navarraise in a live performance featuring Rita Gorr as Anita and George Shirley as Araquil.
The opposite of sax
Opera Philadelphia announced today that Lawrence Brownlee has joined the company as an Artistic Advisor.
Gotta change my life
On this day in 1966 Barbra Streisand starred on the Color Me Barbra special on CBS.
Baton vs. glass ceiling
The Dallas Opera is delighted to announce that applications are now being accepted for a unique residential program designed to provide training and career support for distinctively talented women conductors.
Too many clues
Born on this day in 1936 composer Richard Rodney Bennett.
Bass of diamonds
Happy 75th birthday bass Samuel Ramey.
Fire Walk with Me
This week brings another opera about which we’ve heard a lot but have had few opportunities to see onstage: The Fiery Angel by Sergei Prokofiev.
The power of fête
The New Amsterdam Opera Company presented a concert Forza (orchestra and chorus, yes; sets and costumes, no) at $35 a ticket.
Tales that witness madness
Jacques Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann has had a bumpy ride to its pride of position in the current French repertoire.
The long and winding road
In her debut solo album, Jamie Barton surrounds Gustav Mahler’s staples of the song repertoire, Rückert Lieder, with the less familiar Gypsy Songs of Antonin Dvorák and select songs by Jean Sibelius.
Art is a barren route, of which glory is the oasis
Born on this day in 1822 novelist Henry Murger.
By Krauss
Born on this day in 1894 soprano Viorica Ursuleac.
Broadcast: Idomeneo
Settle in for an afternoon of opera seria, cher public, and chat as you will in the comments section of this post.
Hier gelt’s der Kunst
Our friends at Opera Depot are in a Wagnerian mood.
Our dancing daughter
Born on this day in 1904 or thereabouts actress Joan Crawford.
Something feverish
Born on this day in 1808 soprano Maria Malibran.
Donna son io, signore, ed in mia casa
Though none of the three performances of Anna Netrebko’s Traviata at La Scala was broadcast, an in-house in decent sound has surfaced.
I got through all of last year, and I’m here
“James Jorden always wanted to direct, but when he first moved to New York the closest he could get to the stage was in a low-paying job sweeping up bobby pins.”
Only connect…
Anna Caterina Antonacci delivered a tour de force of French diction, subtlety of phrasing, variation of vocal timbre, and white-hot stage acting.
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).