The Talk of the Town
In the case of Lina Bruna Rasa, the reasons why she never sang at the Met are painfully clear.
For vibrato fanciers, of course, discovering Supervia is like hitting the mother lode.
Yes, the Met had Birgit Nilsson – so they let the volcano that was Gertrude Grob-Prandl‘s voice slip through their fingers.
So much color in this beautifully agile voice.
I like to use this recording to annoy Mariah Carey fans by proving that whistle register doesn’t count.
I’m surprised that American soprano Maria Kanyova has never performed at the Met, even though she has loads of high-profile U.S. opera credits.
The fact that Barbara Hannigan has never performed at The Metropolitan Opera is just plain dumb.
From one Mister Snow to another, I salute him.
I decided I’d take ‘never made it to the Met’ as an excuse to submit a post about why French soprano Denise Duval (1921-2015) is special to me.
The immortal Renata Tebaldi, just about 29 years old as Saint Joan in a RAI broadcast of Giovanna d’Arco from 1951.
I was a huge fan of Anna Netrebko.
The mesmerizing run of Trovatore in October 2015 at the Met, a few months after we learned that Hvorostovsky was dying
Here in Chicago, I’ve had many a shot at listening to Riccardo Muti as a Verdi conductor.
I’ve never been shy about my adoration of Anna Moffo.
My favorite Verdi performance is the iconic 1960 RCA recording of Otello with Jon Vickers in the title role and the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of the masterly Tullio Serafin.
Tebaldi, at La scala, in one of her nights of glory, where the voice poured out effortlessly, singing with utter conviction, and no soprano ever appealed to God more fervently.
My contribution this month honors the great Sherrill Milnes in his electrifying performance of Iago’s credo (1979, Met).
Much as I love the Abbado Deutsche Grammophon studio set, this 1980 San Francisco Opera live Simon Boccanegra under Lamberto Gardelli has an emotional punch.
Bring on the drama, mama!
Nadine Sierra‘s Gilda at the Metropolitan Opera had that rare quality of sounding both immaculate and spontaneous, as if Verdi’s lines were being discovered in the moment rather than executed.
Tito Gobbi‘s performance of Rigoletto’s “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata” offers the most musically and dramatically complete portrait of Verdi’s tortured court jester that I have ever heard.
I’ve looked to Sherrill Milnes many a time for insight and guidance whenever I’ve added a new Verdi role to my repertoire.
Stiffelio has always been the dark horse of early Verdi operas.
I have very few opportunities to see real-life opera divas, but when Natalie Dessay chose to debut her first Traviata at Santa Fe, there was no way I was going to miss it.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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