Questo e Quello
Manon Lescaut was Giacomo Puccini’s first big international success. His publisher, Giulio Ricordi, tried to put him off the project by citing Jules Massenet’s very successful adaptation just nine years previously. Puccini was intent on making the story his own, insisting, “A woman like Manon can have more than one lover… I shall feel it…
“Conservatives cherished it for being small and inconvenient…”
On this day in 1533 Henry VIII of England secretly married his second wife Anne Boleyn.
Not only are our friends at Opera Depot burning up the internet with a one-day sale on their entire collection at 60% off, they’re also offering a free download of 15 different versions of the complete Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung.
On this day in 41 AD Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards, who then proclaimed Caligula’s uncle Claudius as Emperor.
Happy 82nd birthday to American actress, singer, and dancer Chita Rivera.
“The board of the bankrupt New York City Opera says it wants to sell its name and other assets to the bidder whose offer is lower than the competing bid.”
On this day in 1521 Emperor Charles V opened the Diet of Worms.
I expected something lovely, but what I beheld was nothing short of magnificent.
On this day in 1904 Leos Janacek‘s Jenufa premiered in Brno.
On this day in 1949 J. Edgar Hoover gave Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen.
Contrary to previous reports, Jonas Kaufmann says he is not dating Madonna.
Our good friends (and advertisers) at Maestro Artist Management have been wondering just how much you, the cher public, know about Ildar Abdrazakov.
As a preview of sorts of the Next Big Thing at the Met, here’s a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta featuring Piotr Beczala from 2002.
On this day in 1829 Johann von Goethe‘s Faust, der Tragödie erster Teil received its premiere performance.
Your doyenne is no good at housewifely duties.
The first two installments of Coloraturafan‘s interview series are now live.
On this day in 1944, the Metropolitan Opera House hosted a jazz concert for the first time.
What does it mean anyway to get to know a diva, and why exactly would we wish to do such a thing?
On this day in 1949, The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, premiered.
“I’m afraid that is not a fact.”
At what moment does a “rising star” become simply a “star”?
The visit of the Mariinsky Theater’s resident company to the glittering opera house of the Brooklyn Academy of Music consists of three ballet programs with starry casts preceded, last night, by a single performance of Rodion Shchedrin’s opera, The Enchanted Wanderer.
On this day in 1947, actress Andrea Martin was born.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
