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On this day in 1953 the Metropolitan Opera opened its season with a new production of Gounod’s Faust.
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Le Comte Ory was a lovely cake with waaaay too much frosting.
After putting a hiatus on their awards in 2020 and 2021 (for reasons that are all too well-known to all of us), the Richard Tucker Foundation Gala returned on Sunday evening November 13 honoring soprano Angel Blue the 2022 Award winner.
Diva November on Chris’s Cache continues with a half dozen of my favorite singers performing solo concert works you’ve likely never heard them in before: Janet Baker, Cecilia Bartoli, Cathy Berberian, Bernarda Fink, Elina Garanca and Jessye Norman in music by Haydn, Monteverdi, Schoenberg, Wagner, Porpora and Beethoven.
On this day in 1918 soprano Rosa Ponselle made her Metropolitan Opera debut and her first appearance in opera in La forza del destino.
Born on this day in 1926 soprano Leonie Rysanek.
Tomasz Konieczny plays the title character, a goldsmith who is possessed by his jewelry, in a live videocast of Paul Hindemith’s opera.
On this day in 1951 the Metropolitan Opera opened its season with a new production of Aida.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Don’t cry because it’s over
Don’t cry because it’s over
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
When they go low
When they go low
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Nailin’ the coughin’
Nailin’ the coughin’
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Landing the plane
Landing the plane
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Le galant tireur
Le galant tireur
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
Catherine Foster is Brünnhilde in a performance conducted by Marek Janowski.
The main reason to see this revival is Benjamin Bernheim’s Duca.
On this day in 1987 mezzo-soprano Livia Budai made her Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of Il trovatore… and her farewell two weeks later.
On this day in 1912 Lucrezia Bori and Enrico Caruso opened the Met season in a new production of Manon Lescaut.
Trouble was afoot from the first selection onward.
Davóne Tines has sung with Early Music groups and avant-garde ones, and he has a taste for projects that cross artistic boundaries, which suits an innate showmanship.
On this day in 1952, the Metropolitan Opera opened its season with a new production of La forza del destino.
Countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen‘s star is surely on the rise.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Leyla Gender-Bender
A favorite Verdi performance from Leyla Gender-Bender
Stiffelio has always been the dark horse of early Verdi operas.
Stiffelio has always been the dark horse of early Verdi operas.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Lou Ann Darras
A favorite Verdi performance from Lou Ann Darras
I have very few opportunities to see real-life opera divas, but when Natalie Dessay chose to debut her first Traviata at Santa Fe, there was no way I was going to miss it.
I have very few opportunities to see real-life opera divas, but when Natalie Dessay chose to debut her first Traviata at Santa Fe, there was no way I was going to miss it.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Astyanax
A favorite Verdi performance from Astyanax
The air held a real charge that night in SF’s War Memorial Opera House.
The air held a real charge that night in SF’s War Memorial Opera House.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Ivy Lin
A favorite Verdi performance from Ivy Lin
This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.
This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge.
Diva November continues with three favorite divas in rare recordings of important 20th century works.
On this day in 1901 the Metropolitan Opera, on tour in Los Angeles, presented the inimitable Emma Calvé as Carmen.
This month, both the Paris Opéra and the Opéra-Comique are mounting seminal works about unhinged anti-heroines who meet their downfall after falling head-over-heels for an unavailable, deeply unattainable man – Salome, in the case of the Opéra; and Armide, in the case of the Opéra-Comique.
On this day in 1898 contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Ortrud.
On this day in 1928, the Metropolitan Opera presented the American premiere of Richard Strauss‘s Die Ägyptische Helena with Maria Jeritza in the title role.
Teatro Nuovo took a big risk in a bad way on Wednesday with its revival of Rossini’s Maometto II.
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