A very, very, very fine house
On this day in 1883 the Metropolitan Opera House opened with Gounod‘s Faust.
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La forza del destino
Sondra Radvanovsky, Brian Jagde, Etienne Dupuis, and Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in a (surely very loud) broadcast from London conducted by Mark Elder.
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).
Les pecheurs de chats
On this day in 2013 the Metropolitan Opera presented Nico Muhly‘s Two Boys for the first time
Un ballo in maschera
Carlo Rizzi conducts Angela Meade, Liv Redpath, Olesya Petrova, Charles Castronovo, and Quinn Kelsey in a broadcast from New York
Unfit to print
You might wonder how this slimly plotted show, which had a brief Off-Broadway run in 2007 before fading into relative obscurity, ended up occupying a piece of prime Main Stem real estate nearly two decades later. To that end, I have four words: Josh Gad. Andrew Rannells.
The lights of the world burn around the clock
On this day in 2014 Metropolitan Opera premiered John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer. Protests break out during the performance.
Swan’s weh
All in all, this was truly a superb achievement for San Francisco Opera and an auspicious first chapter in the Wagner opera journey with Eun Sun Kim.
Cangia in un punto il tuo destino
On this day in 1994 baritone Bryn Terfel made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Figaro.
Georgia on my mind
Suddenly, here it was, and I wondered if it was a dream or an illusion.
Marvels unfold
On this day in 1974 Benjamin Britten‘s Death in Venice had its American Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera.
Balls to the wall
Five fatal Swedish/Bostonian love triangles
Amelia goes to the ball
On this day in 1991 soprano Deborah Voigt made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Amelia.
Unicorn tapestry
The Hunt’s strongest argument for the possibility of growth, connection, and agency even under adverse and restrictive circumstances lay, of course, in its music, in which three individual voices were able to combine and transform into something infinitely rich and strange.
Hearts were made to be broken
Born on this day in 1962 baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Barging in
On this day in 1976 soprano Hildegard Behrens made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Giorgetta!
Picture a day like this
George Benjamin and Martin Crimp‘s latest opera from London conducted by Corinna Neymeyer and starring Ema Nikolovska, Jacquelyn Stucker, Beate Mordal, and Cameron Shahbazii
Pyramid scheme
On this day in 1964 Metropolitan Opera’s Opening Night was the then-new Nathaniel Merrill production of Aida.
Dreamers with empty hands
It’s autumn in New York, baby.
Venuta al richiamo d’amor
On this day in 1965 soprano Renata Scotto made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cio-Cio San
Aging of aquarius
Wanna feel old? Hair, “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,” as it styled itself, has its 56th birthday this month.
Good treble
Born on this day in 1935 tenor Luciano Pavarotti
Ace of bass
On February 10 of this year was the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great Italian basso Cesare Siepi. I found that this milestone was scarcely noted in the opera press.
Folle journée
On this day in 1967 the Metropolitan Opera debuts of mezzo Teresa Berganza as Cherubino and baritone Tom Krause as Count Almaviva