Recent Stories
Austin Opera’s 40th anniversary gala celebrated the present while gesturing boldly towards the future.
Pittsburgh Opera’s Fellow Travelers delivers a timely story with detail and care.
Jeanine Tesori’s Blue is an ambitious and worthy opera that deserves a better presentation than it got at Lincoln Center on Saturday.
Barbara Hannigan‘s Lulu is the greatest live performance I’ve seen.
“Protect the dolls, they say, but who really cares for them?” This question, posed by performer Mara Snip during the postlude of Neuköllner Oper’s 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, had a clear answer: Aliens.
Grand Tier Grab Bag looks forward to a big week for Umberto Giordano by sharing Sondra Radvanovsky and Gregory Kunde performing the final duet from Andrea Chénier.
Michael Thalmeier‘s Tristan und Isolde in Berlin asks, how much minimalism is too much minimalism?
Grand Tier Grab Bag
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.
My 600 performance life
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Life imitates art
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
Drink me
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Otherwise occupied
Parterre Box features a performance from two belcantisti who would rather you not think about their political affiliations.
Parterre Box features a performance from two belcantisti who would rather you not think about their political affiliations.
Northern star
Parterre Box previews an upcoming performance of Hercules with Ann Hallenberg in some very unique Baroque repertoire.
Parterre Box previews an upcoming performance of Hercules with Ann Hallenberg in some very unique Baroque repertoire.
Who are the rats? Why are their tails getting longer? Is Lohengrin a rat trying to free himself from a maze?
As my friend and I Ubered out to the luxurious Cobb Energy Centre for Atlanta Opera’s La traviata, I had trains on the mind.
James Gaffigan, the incoming Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, strikes a balance between New World precision and Old World flair in repertoire, staging, and wine
At every turn, the preconceived notion of Trovatore was denied, right down to the boxing during the ballet.
Only the singers, led by Benjamin Bernheim, can salvage a dismal La Damnation de Faust at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées.
Ursula Sturgeon looks at the furry opera company HowlAria and discovers that maybe one man’s Callas recording collection is another man’s fursuit.
Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance by Harry Rose
What a shaded and elegant delivery William Mattteuzzi brings to this lilting setting of D’Annunzio‘s “O falce di luna calante”!
What a shaded and elegant delivery William Mattteuzzi brings to this lilting setting of D’Annunzio‘s “O falce di luna calante”!
A favorite art song performance from David Phillips
Does this count as an art song?
Does this count as an art song?
A favorite art song performance from Mr. Portafiori
I have always loved this recording of Canteloube‘s Chants d’Auvergne sung by Dawn Upshaw and conducted by Kent Nagano.
I have always loved this recording of Canteloube‘s Chants d’Auvergne sung by Dawn Upshaw and conducted by Kent Nagano.
A favorite art song performance from Mister Snow
Jessye Norman really embraces elements of the song falling somewhere between classical art song and popular ballad.
Jessye Norman really embraces elements of the song falling somewhere between classical art song and popular ballad.
A favorite art song performance from La Grunowa
Janet Baker sings Elgar‘s Sea Pictures with such honesty and clarity and fervor.
Janet Baker sings Elgar‘s Sea Pictures with such honesty and clarity and fervor.
A favorite art song performance from Ben Miller
It’s not where you start but where you Finnish
It’s not where you start but where you Finnish
With Cesare’s old-school rules of war set spinning by Cleopatra’s Bollywood-inspired manipulations, a Da Capo aria has never felt more dangerous
Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at Lyric Opera of Chicago are hysterical in all the wrong ways.
Pacific Opera Project’s high-spirited revival of Fra Diavolo is both therapy and an escape.
Grand Tier Grab Bag marks the Metropolitan Opera return of Daniele Rustioni with a zippy performance of the Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens recorded in 2022 in Munich.