Herbert von Karajan was a great opera conductor
He has conducted some of my favorite opera recordings.
He has conducted some of my favorite opera recordings.
Although Ernest Ansermet is most often associated with orchestral music, his 1964 recording of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is still my favorite.
Ahead of his new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten, Barrie Kosky chats with Kevin Ng in Aix about pretty much everything — except the details of his new Frau.
The Bayerische Staatsoper’s Ring cycle scores another triumph with Tobias Kratzer’s take on Die Walküre.
Greek National Opera’s Medea in the ancient theater at Epidaurus is an intermittently rewarding exercise in nostalgia.
San Francisco Opera hosts an exuberant tribute to queerness past and present.
Historically, conductors were often viewed as rigid, authoritarian figures. Yannick Nézet-Séguin completely subverts this stereotype.
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
Brett Dean‘s Of One Blood casts a well-trodden Tudor tale in a poignant, new light.
The artist who I feel should have made it to the Met is Patrizia Ciofi.
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never sang at the Met.
Brundibár at the Opéra Comique combines whimsy with historicity to sobering effect.
This Mireille duet unites Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo and shows the timbral and stylistic qualities that made them exemplary.
The premiere recording of David T. Little’s What Belongs to You reveals a work of both tenderness and artistic tenacity.
John Danaher pays an operatic tribute to the writings of James McCourt, an author who captured the spirit of opera as queer and dangerous like no other.
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.