The Talk of the Town

The Met should revive The Aspern Papers The Met should revive The Aspern Papers

Samuel Barber may have had an edge as melodist over Dominick Argento, but the latter had a far better instinct as dramatist, and his 1988 setting of Henry James’s The Aspern Papers is overdue for a Met premiere. It is a gripping work of musical psychodrama.

on February 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Jonny spielt auf The Met should revive Jonny spielt auf

Jonny spielt auf by Ernst Krenek could be a lot of rollicking fun, especially if a director and design team leaned into creating a 1927 world that acknowledged modernist art movements, silent film acting aesthetics, and the use of historical film footage of nightlife and cityscapes of the time.

on February 21, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Die Gezeichneten The Met should revive Die Gezeichneten

It will never happen, but a girl can dream.

on February 20, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Lucrezia Borgia The Met should revive Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia — given only one night more than a century ago. Giustizia per Lucrezia!!!

on February 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Maria Stuarda The Met should revive Maria Stuarda

Now that Lisette Oropesa is doing the McVicar co-production of Maria Stuarda in Madrid, can the Met revive it with her?

on February 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive La voix humaine and Erwartung The Met should revive La voix humaine and Erwartung

While I have an entire laundry list of operas (Maria Regina d’Inghilterra, Loreley, La Wally, Sadko, The Snow Maiden, The Golden Cockerel, La Fiamma, and many others) I wish the Met would do – especially after Medea was such a success – I think realistically speaking this double-bill would be lovely for Sondra Radvanovsky at this point.

on February 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive The Nose The Met should revive The Nose

William Kentridge‘s production of The Nose. I think it’s his strongest production for the Met, the piece is a masterpiece and this is a time for absurdity. Bring in Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson who did such an outstanding job with Mtsensk.

on February 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Akhnaten The Met should revive Akhnaten

Both a brilliant composition and an outstanding production

on February 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive its “Parade” triple bill The Met should revive its “Parade” triple bill

John Dexter and David Hockney‘s French triple bill of Poulenc‘s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Satie‘s Parade, and Ravel‘s L’enfant et les sortilèges, last seen in 2002. This clip is from Barcelona but you can enjoy Gabriel Bermúdez nonetheless.

on February 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Saint-François d’Assise The Met should revive Saint-François d’Assise

The Met was built for Saint-François d’Assise. It is a huge work, and it needs a huge space. And Ingo Metzmacher.

on February 13, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive María de Buenos Aires The Met should revive María de Buenos Aires

Because we have no shortage of mezzos that would be great in this rep

on February 12, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Parsifal The Met should revive Parsifal

In François Girard‘s production.

on February 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Daphne The Met should revive Daphne

… with Erin Morley

on February 10, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Ermione The Met should revive Ermione

Michael Spyres as Pirro; Juan Diego Flórez, Javier Camerena, or Lawrence Brownlee as Oreste; Aigul Akhmetshina as Andromaca; Anastasia Bartoli as Ermione

on February 09, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Mignon The Met should revive Mignon

Mignon of Ambroise Thomas was performed at the Met many times but has not been for decades.

on February 08, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Esclarmonde The Met should revive Esclarmonde

Esclarmonde is the only answer to the question of what the Met should revive.

on February 07, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Il trittico The Met should revive Il trittico

It is time for the Met to revive Puccini‘s masterpiece and his best work IMHO, Il trittico.

on February 06, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Die tote Stadt The Met should revive Die tote Stadt

It’s fascinating, and gorgeous, and over the top, and it requires a director to make actual decisions in a way that causes clutching of pearls when it happens in a production of a better known opera.

on February 05, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Der Freischütz The Met should revive Der Freischütz

Der Freischütz has not been seen at the Met since 1972!

on February 04, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Hérodiade The Met should revive Hérodiade

Every mediocre performance of Trovatore (and don’t we know about those?) could instead be a very good performance of Massenet‘s Hérodiade.

on February 03, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Les vêpres siciliennes The Met should revive Les vêpres siciliennes

Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes — not I vespri siciliani, but the French original.

on February 02, 2025 at 6:00 AM
The Met should revive Król Roger The Met should revive Król Roger

Peter—may I call you Peter? It has come to our attention that you are seeking operas with “rich, melodic scores.”

on February 01, 2025 at 6:00 AM
A favorite Mozart performance from Last Castrato A favorite Mozart performance from Last Castrato

This is an astonishing recording by one of the greatest singers of the 19th century.

on January 31, 2025 at 6:00 AM
A favorite Mozart performance from grimoaldo2 A favorite Mozart performance from grimoaldo2

The Greatest Thing Ever (AKA Lisette Oropesa) in a stunning performance of “Martern aller Arten”

on January 30, 2025 at 6:00 AM