The Talk of the Town
As opera and operetta “had a moment” in major Hollywood motion pictures starring the likes of Lawrence Tibbett, Jeannette MacDonald, and Nelson Eddy during the Great Depression, it made perfect sense that a canny showman like Mae West would want a piece of the action.
Visconti’s masterpiece and one of the great filmed sequences of opera.
After seeing The Fifth Element I wanted to see Inva Mula live, which I did (Nanetta, two years after the movie) and she certainly did not disappoint!
One of the most moving scenes in film, accompanied by Callas‘s iconic singing.
Sofia Coppola‘s cult classic Marie Antoinette is best known for blending a whimsically baroque visuals with a post-punk score.
As a beginning freshman in college at CSU Long Beach, I was cast in my first opera – the chorus for L’Elisir d’amore ( performed in English as “The Elixir of Love”).
This early performance of Anna Bolena’s final scene is just one of the most poised and magical pieces of bel canto singing I’ve ever heard. It must have been extraordinary to hear her at the outset of her career.
Pavarotti in his prime – He makes this so-familiar aria new and glowing.
Sigh! I think most of you realized I would pick this one. Got that “Donizetti and Bellini Heroines” from the Record Club of America when I was in my teens and playing it to death.
This to me is everything that makes Donizetti the great dramatist of the bel canto era.
The brave and beautiful Maartje Offers – best known from the potted Ring – lends her charismatic voice to Donizetti here.
Maybe this is an obvious choice, but this is the sort of performance that every opera queen dreams of attending: an unknown work being performed by a cast of largely unknown singers.
Donizetti’s never been a desert island composer of mine, but he comes close when I hear Edita Gruberova in her prime.
Assuming someone else will pick Leyla Gencer‘s legendary “Vil bastarda”, I’ll go with another clip featuring robust audience participation.
The Greatest Thing Ever (AKA Lisette Oropesa) in a stunning mad scene from Lucia di Lammermoor with the excellent Artur Rucinski and Roberto Tagliavini in an extremely effective production by David Alden at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
For me, Donizetti’s operas are all about the mad scenes.
Late Callas singing Maria from “Figlia del Reggimento” a role she wisely never attempted on stage.
Who knew that rehearing a performance you believed had become nothing more than a cherished memory would have such healing properties during a time of bereavement?
The ham in this pandemic-era let’s-put-on-a-show Elisir duet (from the Met at Home broadcast) may make the performance more sooey than sui generis. But I find it irresistible.
Well, it’s a clip from Mary Zimmermann‘s production of Lucia di Lammermoor… wait, wait, come back!
Does anyone remember Beverly Sills as the three Donizetti queens at NYCO? This made a huge impression on me.
The Met’s 2022 Lucia was divisive, to say the least, but it was the first time Lucia truly resonated with me.
In terms of elegance and beauty of execution, Renato Bruson is in a class by himself among Donizetti baritones.
Walking out of this Lucia performance from October 2010, my companion said to me, “No mystery who Seattle Opera’s Artist of the Year is going to be.” Aleksandra Kurzak did end up getting that award, to no one’s surprise!
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
