A favorite Verdi performance from Sanford Schimel
I’ve never been shy about my adoration of Anna Moffo.
By Sanford Schimel
71 comments
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Gorgon wild
Iain Bell and Lydia Steier‘s Medusa stuns in Brussels.
A favorite Verdi performance from John Danaher
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.
Broadcast
La Damnation de Faust / Prague Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Tomáš Netopil and tenor Paul Appleby lead a live broadcast of Berlioz's opera from Prague.
Streamed May 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM
6 comments
Garden leave
Brigitte Fassbaender’s acid-laced production of La finta giardiniera leans into the absurdities of Mozart’s early dramma giocoso.
A favorite Verdi performance from Niel Rishoi
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.
A favorite Verdi performance from Brendan Latimer
My contribution this month honors the great Sherrill Milnes in his electrifying performance of Iago’s credo (1979, Met).
Broadcast
Carmen / Teatro la Fenice
Annalisa Stroppa leads a live performance from the Teatro La Fenice
Streamed May 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM
3 comments
I could escape this feeling with my China girl
Tired of Turandot? “The Dancing Goddess” at the China Institute Gallery gives us a glimpse at a real Peking Opera queen.
A favorite Verdi performance from Krunoslav
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.
By Krunoslav
42 comments
Broadcast
Turandot / Metropolitan Opera
Anna Pirozzi sings the title tole in a live broadcast from New York
Streamed May 23, 2026 at 1:00 PM
326 comments
Broadcast
Nabucco / Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Francesco Lanzilotta leads Ariunbaatar Ganbataar and Anastasia Bartoli in a live performance from Berlin
Streamed May 23, 2026 at 12:00 PM
2 comments
The anxiety of influencer
Constance: A Confession, presented in Brooklyn by Experiments in Opera, satirizes our digital age with style.
Difficult people
Anna Pirozzi makes a welcome return to the Metropolitan Opera, but Turandot remains as thorny as ever.
A favorite Verdi performance from David Phillips
Bring on the drama, mama!
By David Phillips
8 comments
A favorite Verdi performance from Michael M. Landman-Karny
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.
Dream a little dream of me
Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego enchants and surprises despite the Disnified treatment of its subject matter.
The Pennsylvania Dutchman
Verdi’s Stiffelio goes Amish in Vienna, featuring a stellar Luciano Ganci in the title role.
Less is more
Vanessa is spare and compelling in Heartbeat Opera’s production.
A favorite Verdi performance from Moe Rear
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.
By Moe Rear
22 comments
Pensar che una partita decide d’una Vida
“Soprano Vida Miknevičiūtė will make her company debut singing the role of Minnie in the new production of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, replacing Sondra Radvanovsky, who has withdrawn due to personal reasons.”
Limmie Pulliam 1976-2026
The American tenor, who made a triumphant mid-career comeback in 2022, has died.
Holding out for a hero
Clémence de Grandval’s Mazeppa gets the superhero treatment in Dortmund.
One man’s Junker
Handel’s Deidamia — and one of its current champions, soprano Sophie Junker — are the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.