Questo e Quello
On this day in 1958 soprano Inge Borkh made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Salome.
The Met’s season premiere of Verdi’s melodrama begins at 7:25 PM.
Jerold Offerman had spent the day readying the Algonquin Opera orchestra for a high-profile, high-stakes revival of Lucia, and things weren’t going well with the glass harmonica.
Out of a literal perforation in the horizon of the Nebraskan prairie emerges Proving Up, the most convincing case I have ever seen for modern American opera.
Get an early start today, cher public, with the 11:00 AM live video webcast of Die Walküre from the Bayerische Staatsopera.
Born on this day in 1897 ‘vocal miracle’ Rosa Ponselle.
Touting an austere, governessy program—the hour-and-change Schubert/Müller cycle, Die schöne Müllerin—Jonas Kaufman fulfilled his long-awaited, high-profile return to Carnegie Hall last night.
Happy 35th birthday to Supertitles!
Happy birthday to Harry Rose, formerly known as Opera Teen, who is 20 years old today.
Opera originalist Heather MacDonald is at it again, describing Our Own JJ as “New York’s shrillest advocate for revisionist opera productions.”
La Cieca, right, suddenly realizes she forgot to post today’s chat.
On this day in 1967 Colin Davis made his Metropolitan Opera debut conducting Peter Grimes, with Jon Vickers, Lucine Amara and Geraint Evans in the cast.
Oh look, another critic who part-times as a necromancer!
On this day in 1984 bass Samuel Ramey, conductor Mario Bernardi and director Frank Corsaro made their Metropolitan Opera debuts in Handel’s Rinaldo.
Los Angeles Opera is the latest company to jump in on that cr-razy trend that sweeping the nation: boring the public to death.
In the midst of Tosca month “Trove Thursday” assembles from the 60s to the 80s an Il Trittico in which each opera features an important Italian star.
Good singing and a dramatically potent (if conservative) production were an unbeatable combination in the Metropolitan Opera’s season premiere of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore.
On this day in 1907 the Metropolian Opera premiered Puccini’s Manon Lescaut with the composer in attendance.
San Francisco opera offers a new peak in drab, listless programming in their 2018-2019 “Leftovers and Stuff We Got With Coupons” gala season.
There is some difficulty in describing just what IYOV the musical occasion is—and I’ll take refuge in calling it a musical work in the current PROTOTYPE Festival.
On this day in 1960 tenor Jon Vickers made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Canio.
Hear and discuss Matthew Polenzani and Pretty Yende tonight starting at 7:25 PM.
It’s perhaps because Puccini is the master of operatic pathos that Tosca has proved so hard for people to get a handle on.
Born on this day in 1908 Broadway diva Ethel Merman.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
