The Talk of the Town
The Met was built for Saint-François d’Assise. It is a huge work, and it needs a huge space. And Ingo Metzmacher.
118 comments
Because we have no shortage of mezzos that would be great in this rep
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Michael Spyres as Pirro; Juan Diego Flórez, Javier Camerena, or Lawrence Brownlee as Oreste; Aigul Akhmetshina as Andromaca; Anastasia Bartoli as Ermione
Mignon of Ambroise Thomas was performed at the Met many times but has not been for decades.
Esclarmonde is the only answer to the question of what the Met should revive.
It is time for the Met to revive Puccini‘s masterpiece and his best work IMHO, Il trittico.
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.
Der Freischütz has not been seen at the Met since 1972!
Every mediocre performance of Trovatore (and don’t we know about those?) could instead be a very good performance of Massenet‘s Hérodiade.
Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes — not I vespri siciliani, but the French original.
Peter—may I call you Peter? It has come to our attention that you are seeking operas with “rich, melodic scores.”
This is an astonishing recording by one of the greatest singers of the 19th century.
The Greatest Thing Ever (AKA Lisette Oropesa) in a stunning performance of “Martern aller Arten”
Never heard more beautiful runs than by Della Casa.
Idomeneo from the 2022 Aix festival. A wacky production, with those moving towers, but the cast is outstanding: Michael Spyres (Idomeneo), Anna Bonitatibus (Idamante), Sabine Devieilhe (Ilia), Nicole Chevalier (Elettra); Raphaël Pichon, Conductor.
One of the most purely gorgeous voices I’ve ever heard live.
Mozart: Zaide, K.344 / Act 1: “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben” · Lucia Popp · Vienna Haydn Orchestra · István Kertész from Mozart Opera Festival ? 1972 Decca Music Group Limited
One of my most favorite pieces is Barbarina’s delightful opener to Act IV of Le nozze di Figaro, “L’ho perduta, me meschina!” from the recording conducted by Otto Klemperer.
Nothing to add here – Just heavenly singing from one of my all-time favorites.
Sabine Devieilhe sings a lot of stellar Mozart — Ilia, Susanna, Blonde, a fierce Queen of the Night — but it’s her 2015 concert-aria recording, featuring hubby Raphael Pichon and his period ensemble Pygmalion, to which I return most often. Stick around until the VERY end of the final track for an ass-kicking surprise. (Or should I say…ass-licking? ;)
The combination of a young opera director who is a little bonkers and a seasoned Mozart soprano (this was Lenneke Ruiten‘s 13th Mozart role on stage) resulted in one of the best performances of Nozze di Figaro I’ve ever seen.
As most of you probably know, I worship at the altar of Moffo the way some worship Callas. She has so many great complete recordings, including Falstaff, Luisa Miller, Lucia, Rigoletto, etc. But one of her very best is this Nozze. Carlo Maria Giulini leads an absolutely perfect cast.
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Pick a little, talk a little
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
