Idée fixe
Born on this day in 1803 composer Hector Berlioz
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Reverse cowgirl
On this day in 1910 Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West had its world premiere at the Met.
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).
Turandot
A (slightly delayed) opening night broadcast from Naples featuring Sondra Radvanovsky, Yusif Eyvazov, Rosa Feola, Alexander Tsymbalyuk, and Sergio Vitale conducted by Dan Ettinger
Florencia en el Amazonas
The Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinée Broadcast season kicks off with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting Ailyn Pérez, Gabriella Reyes, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Mario Chang, Michael Chioldi, Mattia Olivieri, and Greer Grimsley in Daniel Catán and Marcela Fuentes-Berain‘s opera
E così vada s’è pur mio destino!
On this day in 1901 Gabriele D’Annunzio’s Francesca da Rimini premiered in Rome starring Eleonora Duse and Gustavo Salvini
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
Myth and meaning
Two short theatrical works and one sacred piece from the beguiling oeuvre of the guy who didn’t write Louise
All is grist for the Miller
On this day in 1849 Verdi’s Luisa Miller premiered in Naples
Not with a bang
When the Staatskapelle Berlin announced a two-night engagement at Carnegie Hall performing all four Brahms symphonies, I immediately made a note in my calendar to attend. I also wondered who would be the conductor when the announced Daniel Barenboim inevitably withdrew.
Don Carlo
Riccardo Chailly conducts Michele Pertusi, Anna Netrebko, Francesco Meli, Luca Salsi, Elina Garanca and Jongmin Park in a live Sant’Ambrogio opening night broadcast from Milan
Son’io la gloria
Born on this day in 1863 composer Pietro Mascagni
Love potion no. 8 1/2
A perfect escape for a city laden with recent layoffs and job cuts coming into Holiday season
Trouble must be treated just like a rebel
On this day in 1846 Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust premiered in Paris
Contents fragile
Perhaps the greatest souvenir of her art there is.
Favola bella che ieri t’illuse, che oggi m’illude
Washington Concert Opera’s season opened with a triumphant performance of Gioachino Rossini’s rarely heard Ermione Saturday night at George Washington University in D.C., led by Antony Walker and a stellar quartet of principals in Angela Meade, Lawrence Brownlee, David Portillo, and Ginger Costa-Jackson.
A chanté le carnage
Happy 77th birthday tenor José Carreras
Christian science monitored
In any case, we probably got as good a Tannhäuser cast as could be assembled these days.
Celebrating 30 Years of parterre box
Readers, writers, and stars reflect on the 30th anniversary of “the most essential blog in opera” (NYT)
Voce di donna
On this day in 1993, the first issue of parterre box was published
Tosca
A broadcast of the 1953 recording featuring Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and Tito Gobbi conducted by Tullio Serafin in celebration of the Callas centennial
Filth and dementia
Zachary Woolfe reflects on the legacy of parterre box founder James Jorden and three decades of “remembering when opera was queer and dangerous and exciting and making it that way again”
By Zachary Woolfe
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