Have yourself a merry little widow
Trove Thursday follows tradition and bids farewell to 2020 with an operetta: Lehár’s Die Lustige Witwe starring Edda Moser as a most commanding Hanna Glawari!
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Look me over once
On this day in 1950, the Metropolitan Opera performed their new production of Fledermaus with a cast including Patrice Munsel, Risë Stevens, Ljuba Welitsch, Set Svanholm and John Brownlee.
Rigoletto
Starring Christiane Eda-Pierre, Isola Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Louis Quilico, and Ara Berberian, conducted by James Levine. From December 15, 1981.
Ad lib
On this day in 1954 the Harold Arlen–Truman Capote musical House of Flowers opened on Broadway.
Tosca
Starring Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Conlon. From December 19, 1978.
That’s what friends are for
Erato’s irresistible Rossini collection Amici e Rivali is hands down my favorite vocal CD of 2020, featuring the inspired bravura sparrings of Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres.
I’ll make a man out of you
Born on this day in 1936 actress Mary Tyler Moore.
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
La bohème
Starring Renata Scotto, Maralin Niska, Luciano Pavarotti, Ingvar Wixell, and Paul Plishka, conducted by James Levine. From March 15, 1977.
“Old people are scary”
Happy 86th birthday to the sublime Dame Maggie Smith.
Falstaff
Starring Lisette Oropesa, Angela Meade, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Paolo Fanale, Ambrogio Maestri, and Franco Vassallo, conducted by James Levine. From December 14, 2013.
The Tales of Hoffmann
“Barrie Kosky tells Offenbach’s fantastic story as a disturbing nightmare of an artist who increasingly loses his sense of identity. As we dive into the obsessions of a deranged mind, the title role itself is shared by three performers – including an actor – while a single soprano embodies all four female lead roles.”
I am not a myth
Born on this day in 1901 actress Marlene Dietrich.
The Merry Widow
Starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, Nathan Gunn, Alek Shrader, and Sir Thomas Allen, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. From January 17, 2015.
The Magic Flute
Performance from December 21, 2010: Erik Nielsen; Susanna Phillips (Pamina), Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night), Russell Thomas (Tamino), Alan Oke (Monostatos), Nathan Gunn (Papageno), Morris Robinson (Sarastro).
No more tears
Happy 82nd birthday soprano Adriana Maliponte.
Hansel and Gretel
Starring Christine Schäfer, Alice Coote, Rosalind Plowright, Philip Langridge, and Alan Held, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. From January 1, 2008.
Hear those magic reindeer click
Jonas Kaufmann would like you know it’s Christmas. Well, not unlike a broken clock, he is right, at least for one day a year.
Fire on the mountain
Happy 39th birthday soprano Sonya Yoncheva.
La bohème
Starring Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto, José Carreras, Richard Stilwell, and James Morris, conducted by James Levine. From January 16, 1982.
Cradle song
While seasonally-awkward streams of Messiah abound, Trove Thursday turns instead to Berlioz’s exquisite L’Enfance du Christ from francophone forces including Stéphanie d’ Oustrac, Bernard Richter, Edwin Crossley-Mercer and Nicolas Testé (for once, sans sa femme).
Drawing room comedy
On this day in 1950 José Ferrer and Gloria Swanson opened a Broadway revival of Twentieth Century.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Starring Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, Christopher Maltman, Maurizo Muraro, and Paata Burchuladze, conducted by Michele Mariotti. From November 22, 2014.
Cendrillon
“In his surprisingly tragic interpretation, the renowned Italian director Damiano Michieletto plays with the clichés of the ruthless ballet world and crosses the line between fairytale magic and reality.”