Questo e Quello
On this day in 1894 Massenet’s Thaïs premiered in Paris.
Sunday afternoon at Carnegie Hall two remarkable slices of soprano-heaven were served up, first by Carolyn Sampson and then by Erin Morley, during the second act of Handel’s Orlando.
On this day in 1956 Lerner and Lowe’s My Fair Lady opened on Broadway.
An astute double-feature exposes all the complexities of female suffering embedded within two canonical works.
It’s time for celebrations!
Without fail, all nine finalists had nice clear ringing voices. Whether they develop into great artists is another question.
On this day in 1885 W S Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s The Mikado premiered in London.
On this day in 1797 Luigi Cherubini’s Medée premiered in Paris.
Welcome, cher public, to the real-time chat for this afternoon’s Met performance of Don Pasquale, starting at 1:00 PM ET.
On this day iconic countertenor David Daniels (not pictured) turns 50!
Opera Orchestra of New York (remember them?) will present Gaetano Donizetti’s Parisina D’este.
After two previous productions of Tosca in New York City this season (the Met’s revival of the controversial Luc Bondy version and NYCO Renaissance’s depressingly retrograde take), New Yorkers finally got a pleasing, if rough-edged, performance of the Puccini classic from LoftOpera.
As portrayed by Vittorio Grigolo, Nemorino was a manic self-absorbed, probably bipolar, stalker who—against all odds and good sense—gets the poor girl.
If I were Renée Fleming, I, too, would indulge myself.
On this day in 1851 Verdi’s Rigoletto premiered in Venice.
Here’s where the parterriani may gather to discuss tonight’s season premiere of L’elisir d’amore, as livestreamed beginning at 7:25 PM.
The wonderful Spanish mezzo Teresa Berganza celebrates her 81st birthday next week and “Trove Thursday” gets the party started.
Born on this day in 1903 American author, politician, and US Ambassador Clare Boothe Luce.
Capriccio was a great pleasure on Friday night, March 4. This was a co-production of Opera Philadelphia and The Curtis Institute, presented in the intimate Pearlman Theater at the Kimmel Center.
On this day across opera history, four major works premiered.
Born on this day in 1910 actress Claire Trevor.
These days a cadre of voluble opera-goers regularly issues dire warnings that anyone about to attend this or that production at the Met should close her eyes and just listen rather than witness yet another Peter Gelb regie “atrocity.”
Here’s our beloved Juan Diego Flórez last week, continuing his voyage into heavier repertoire as the titular love-sick teenager in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
On this day in 1824 Giacomo Meyerbeer’s opera Il Crociato in Egitto premiered in Venice.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
