The queen’s gambit
Lately I’ve been loving listening to Régine Crespin, prompting Trove Thursday to celebrate the great French soprano with private in-house recordings of two of her important non-Met North American appearances.
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Tristan und Isolde
This production of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence features Sir Simon Rattle leading the London Symphony Orchestra. Stuart Skelton and Nina Stemme are in the title roles, with Jamie Barton, Josef Wagner and Franz-Josef Selig. The production is by Simon Stone.
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).
Alone time
Born on this day in 1912 soprano Christel Goltz.
Ariadne auf Naxos
Starring Deborah Voigt, Natalie Dessay, Susanne Mentzer, and Richard Margison, conducted by J____ L_____. Production by Elijah Moshinsky. From April 3, 2003.
Damask and depth
For the weeks between the announcement that the return of Wolf Trap Opera would, in part, take the form of a concert performance of Sweeney Todd and its opening at the Filene Center on Friday evening, I racked my brain: why Sweeney now?
Hit me with your best Szot
Happy 52nd birthday to baritone Paulo Szot.
Elektra
Starring Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Production by Patrice Chéreau. From April 30, 2016.
Meet my sweetie now
Born on this day in 1927 actress Janet Leigh.
Der Rosenkavalier
Starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Judith Blegen, Luciano Pavarotti, Derek Hammond-Stroud, and Kurt Moll, conducted by J____ L____. Production by Nathaniel Merrill. From October 7, 1982.
La morte verdiana
An undeniable divide stands between the great idiomatic tradition of operatic performance and the current training models meant to prepare that tradition’s executants.
As good as it gets
Born on this day in 1936 actress Shirley Knight.
Ahknaten
Starring Dísella Lárusdóttir, J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Aaron Blake, Will Liverman, Richard Bernstein and Zachary James, conducted by Karen Kamensek. Production by Phelim McDermott. From November 23, 2019.
Decline and fall
Born on this day in 1898 actress, singer and dancer Gertrude Lawrence.
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Starring Teresa Stratas, Astrid Varnay, Richard Cassilly and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by J____ L_____. From November 27, 1979.
Love is the answer
Happy 51st birthday to triple (at least!) threat Audra McDonald.
Nixon in China
Starring Kathleen Kim, Janis Kelly, Robert Brubaker, Russell Braun, James Maddalena, and Richard Paul Fink, conducted by John Adams. Production by Peter Sellars. From February 12, 2011.
Good as hell
Born on this day in 1714 composer Christoph Willibald von Gluck.
The March King
Celebrating Independence Day didn’t seem like a great idea in recent years, but for hope-filled 2021 Trove Thursday offers El Capitan, John Philip Sousa’s best-known operetta.
When I have sung my songs
The news of the death of beloved soprano Gianna Rolandi and her adoring obituary by Enzo Bordello attracted the most parterre box readers for the month of June 2021.
“Playing bad girls is a bore”
Born on this day in 1916 actress Olivia de Havilland.
The Ghosts of Versailles
Starring Teresa Stratas, Hakan Hagegard, Gino Quilico, Graham Clark, Marilyn Horne, and Renée Fleming, conducted by James Levine. Production by Sir Colin Graham. From January 10, 1992.
“I like it when I strut”
Happy 64th birthday actress Delta Burke.
Doctor Atomic
An operatic exploration of a pivotal moment in human history, Doctor Atomic examines the birth of the nuclear age through the eyes of one of its most important midwives, Robert Oppenheimer.