Chat: I puritani
“King of the High D’s” Javier Camarena headlines an HD video performance of I puritani this afternoon live from the Compañia Nacional de Ópera in Mexico.
Questo e Quello
Ehrt eure deutschen Meister!
Born on this day in 1813 composer Richard Wagner (not pictured).
Some people ain’t me!
On this day in 1959 that greatest of all musicals, Gypsy, opened on Broadway
Der Snuggiekavalier
The Met’s cobranding efforts are really beginning to pay off.
INTERNET BLOGGING IDIOT IS ACCUSED LONDON LIBELIST
Veteran maroon Norman Lebrecht does it again.
The angels wept tonight
On this day in 1896 the six-ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris fell on the crowd.
All about my stepmother
“Trove Thursday” presents Sena Jurinac‘s radiant portrayal of Janacek’s Jenufa opposite the implacable Kostelnicka of Martha Mödl.
It’s got to be perfection for me
Born on this day in 1861 soprano Nellie Melba.
“This is the very ecstasy of love”
The grand illusion is that we know it all. From four hundred years of opera, we’ve distilled the worthy survivors.
Maverick
Happy 57th birthday soprano Lauren Flanigan.
The swan never bothered me anyway
Cher public, you knew La Cieca would come through for you, didn’t you? So hurry past the jump and give a listen.
Snow business
Los Angeles saw the first U.S. performance of Giacomo Puccini’s snow-dusted weeper in 1897 just a year after the young Toscanini led the prima in Turin.
Per la Madonna che ti mangerei come il pane!
On this day in 1890 Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana premiered in Rome.
Community service
Regina Opera almost completely fulfilled its mission Saturday afternoon with their production of Manon Lescaut.
Class act
Happy 67th birthday bass Ferruccio Furlanetto.
Youth served
Too often I allow my memories of great singers to be dulled by late career behavior, delving into unsuitable roles or just plain laziness.
Chat: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
An early bird special chat: the premiere of Die Meistersinger from the Bayerische Staatsoper, featuring DJ Jummy Jonas.
Now I suddenly feel as if I’ve taken all my clothes off
Can it really be 40 (Four, oh!) years since La Cieca was born?
Shooting in low light
What we really need, some seem to believe, is fuller representation of the 19th century.
To affect the soul
Born on this day in 1567 composer Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi.
She’s still here
Happy 91st birthday soprano Patrice Munsel.
Live and empoisoned
In how many operas does the heroine drink poison and then go lengthily mad?
After all we have each of us only eight notes to work upon
Born on this day in 1842 composer Arthur Sullivan.
The other Valkyrie
While D.C. Wagnerians wait for Nina Stemme’s Brünnhilde to arrive next week, “Trove Thursday” presents the erstwhile Valkyrie of another compelling diva: Anna Caterina Antonacci as Brunehild, the heroine of Ernest Reyer’s Sigurd, a French grand opera also based on the Nibelungenlied.
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).