Everything sacred
Wrapping up Diva November, Chris’s Cache offers two sacred works that couldn’t be more unalike.
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Bring on the night
On this day in 1937 the Metropolitan Opera opened its season with Tristan und Isolde.
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).
A game of 3-D chess
“Opera needs a reset. We think there needs to be a fundamental shift in the ecology.”
The princess bride
On this day in 1942 the Metropolitan Opera presented a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor.
Comme un doux trésor
On this day in 1906 a 24-year-old soprano named Geraldine Farrar made her Metropolitan Opera debut on the opening night of the season in Roméo et Juliette.
La gazza ladra
Rossini’s comic opera, recorded November 16 at the Theater an der Wien.
A star is porn
Show business fables often involve an ambitious, if naïve, ingenue (male or female) desperate for fame. This young wannabe finds fame and fortune: but it comes at a cost.
The sense of dramatic thrust
Soprano Lydia Grindatto confirmed the fine impression she had made at Giargiari vocal competition with a charismatic, thoroughly inhabited performance that showed careful preparation in every aspect.
The lady came with an excellent reputation
On this day in 1885, soprano Lilli Lehmann made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Carmen (in German, of course.)
When my ship comes in
On this day in 2000 soprano Nina Stemme made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Senta.
Unhappy ‘Hours’
The film of The Hours failed to effectively weave together the novel’s trio of threads of interiority about suicide and secondarily literary creation. I wondered if an opera would stand a better chance at achieving that? Based on Tuesday’s diva-encrusted stage premiere of Kevin Puts and Greg Pierce’s The Hours, its creators didn’t pull it off either.
Marchons, marchons!
On this day in 1940 the Metropolitan Opera opened its season with La Fille du Régiment, starring Lily Pons and featuring the “Casablanca” finale!
The Hours
The world premiere of Kevin Puts‘ new opera opens at the Met tonight.
The beautiful and damned
On this day in 1965 Montserrat Caballé and Sherrill Milnes made their Metropolitan Opera debuts in Faust.
Judith in disguise
No one who followed Trove Thursday will be surprised that Diva November on Chris’s Cache today features Ann Hallenberg and Sandrine Piau.
Three dimensions
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Don Carlos was a real feast of good singing and orchestral grandeur.
Better off dead
I have a horrible confession. I’ve always judged the quality of an opera largely on the number of dead characters at the finale.
Everything old is new again
All things were, indeed, made new again, when Boston’s venerable Handel & Haydn Society brought Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro to the stage, their first time doing so in its entirety, as their 2,576th concert on Thursday.
For the first time
On this day in 1967 Herbert von Karajan bowed at the Metropolitan Opera in a new production of Die Walküre which he directed and conducted.
Two by two
On this day in 1953 the Metropolitan Opera presented a performance of Le nozze di Figaro featuring the debuts of Irmgard Seefried and Lisa Della Casa.
Good grief
There are no words superlative enough to describe this celebration of Orpheus’ grief, and I truly applaud San Francisco Opera for presenting such food for thought that will definitely resonate long after with me.
Tristan und Isolde
A recording of a live performance of Wagner’s music drama from Seattle Opera.
Blood-covered hands
On this day in 1992 the Metropolitan Opera presented a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor directed by Francesca Zambello (not pictured.)