Ear candy
On this day in 1893 Engelbert Humperdinck‘s Hansel und Gretel premiered in Weimar
Recent Stories
The music seemed to come from afar
New York shall never be in need of another Messiah to assist to during the holiday season, but a new tradition is beginning to crystallize at the cavernous St. John the Divine to rival it.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Lucca-like
Born on this day in 1858 composer Giacomo Puccini
The Magic Flute
Gareth Morrell conducts Liv Redpath, Kathryn Lewek, Joshua Blue, Alexander Birch Elliott, and James Creswell in a holiday presentation from New York
Field and fountain, moor and Montemezzi
Today’s Three Kings aren’t the ones who arrive in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera usually performed this time of year
Silver linings’ playbook
On this day in 1921 Jerome Kern‘s Sally produced by Ziegfeld on Broadway
Anita hero
“Rachvelishvili sang Carmen, the role of her 2009 breakthrough, hundreds of times, and was scheduled to ring in 2024 as Bizet’s classic antiheroine in the splashy premiere of a new production at the Met.”
A beautiful little fool
Happy 85th birthday composer John Harbison
Va, vecchio ‘Don’
The whole performance was reminiscent of long-forgotten ways of doing opera (ways which still find the full approval of an Italian public tired of proposals that are all too “experimental”)
Let them eat cake
On this date in 1991 the world premiere of John Corigliano‘s The Ghost of Versailles at the Met
Suspicious conduct
There is a strong case to be made that George Fridrich Handel is the composer most suited to the present moment.
Streich up the band
Born on this day in 1920 soprano Rita Streich…
Ticklish problems
Georg Solti made his Met debut conducting Tannhäuser on this date in 1960.
The Magic Flute
Patrick Furrer conducts Janai Brugger, Kathryn Lewek, Piotr Buszewski, Rolando Villazón and Brindley Sherrat in a broadcast of the Met’s holiday presentation
Turandot
Marco Armiliato conducts Asmik Grigorian, Jonas Kaufmann, Kristina Mkhitaryan, Jörg Schneider, and Dan Paul Dumitrescu in a broadcast from Vienna
If you’re a star, you should behave like one
Born on this day in 1770 composer Ludwig van Beethoven
Del mio pensiero tu sei Raina
Happy 89th birthday soprano Raina Kabaivanska
Les mêmes chansons, les mêmes refrains
Today’s collection features souvenirs of three previous Met productions of Carmen
Quest’ansia, questa strana nostalgia
On this day in 1918 Puccini’s Il trittico had its world premiere at the Met
Match point
A frigid air swept through the crypt of the Church of the Intercession on Friday, December 8, nearly blowing out the candles that cast a golden light on the bundled-up audience.
Die Ehre wiederfahren
On this day in 1979 mezzo Agnes Baltsa made her Met debut as Octavian
Tannhaüser
Donald Runnicles conducts Wagner’s Tannhäuser live from New York with Elza van den Heever, Ekaterina Gubanova, Andreas Schager, Christian Gerhaher, and Georg Zeppenfeld
Tosca
Michele Mariotti conducts Anna Pirozzi, Erwin Schrott, and Fabio Sartori in a live broadcast from Rome