Monster recital sacré
“Pèlerin Deslieux had arrived to escort her to Carnegie Hall. They would walk over together. ‘There’s a queue from here to there!’ he told her.”
Recent Stories
Velvet underwhelmed
“Camp” is exactly the lens through which The Velvet Touch is best examined, including an utterly bewildering cross-pollinating of genres.
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).
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
With Christian Nickel, Lisette Oropesa, Emanuela von Frankenberg, Regula Mühlemann, Stella Roberts, Goran Juric, Andreas Grötzinger, Daniel Behle, Christian Natter, Michael Laurenz, Ludwig Blochberger.
Parsifal
Starring Katarina Dalayman, Jonas Kaufmann, Peter Mattei, Evgeny Nikitin and René Pape, conducted by Daniele Gatti. From March 2, 2013.
Bear necessities
On this day in 1958 Don Ameche and Elaine Stritch opened on Broadway in the musical Goldilocks.
Götterdämmerung
Starring Hildegard Behrens, Christa Ludwig, Siegfried Jerusalem, and Matti Salminen, conducted by James Levine. From May 5, 1990.
Behind the mask
Born on this day in 1813 composer Giuseppe Verdi. Born on this day in 1924 soprano Leyla Gencer.
Siegfried
Starring Hildegard Behrens, Siegfried Jerusalem and James Morris, conducted by James Levine; From April 26, 1990.
Die Walküre
Starring Hildegard Behrens, Jessye Norman, Christa Ludwig, Gary Lakes, James Morris and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. From April 8, 1989.
Old-Fashioned Oratorio
For the fourth annual edition of “Handel for my birthday” Trove Thursday serves up three heaping portions of “old-fashioned oratorio.”
Sunny side
On this day in 1979, the musical revue Sugar Babies opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, to run 1,208 performances.
Das Rheingold
Starring Christa Ludwig, Siegfried Jerusalem, James Morris and Ekkehard Wlaschiha, conducted by James Levine. From April 23, 1990.
Say it with feet, gladly
Born on this day in 1917 actress and dancer June Allyson.
Tannhäuser
Starring Eva-Maria Westbroek, Michelle DeYoung, Johan Botha, Peter Mattei, and Günther Groissböck, conducted by James Levine. From October 31, 2015.
Make this a night for love
On this day in 1963 Barbra Streisand guest starred on The Judy Garland Show.
Tristan und Isolde
Starring Nina Stemme, Ekaterina Gubanova, Stuart Skelton, Evgeny Nikitin and René Pape, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. From October 8, 2016.
Where the boys are
I often think of Boys in the Band as the gay play equivalent of Kern and Hammerstein’s Show Boat—it’s hugely important in theater history, but the politics have become extremely problematic.
A ‘Barbiere’ of quality
What a joy when a comic opera gets you cackling through the whole night, discovering new nuances and perspectives from an oft-seen work and delighted with wonderful singing!
Standing woman
It struck me that Jamie Barton’s voice is not dissimilar to a Henry Moore sculpture: grand and monumental but never brash or ostentatious; eccentric and offbeat but always graceful and tastefully molded.
How do I look?
On this day in 1961 the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s opened at Radio City Music Hall.
Don Carlos
The full five-act “Paris” version, in French, featuring Michele Pertusi, Jonas Kaufmann, Igor Golovatenko, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Malin Byström and Eve-Maud Hubeaux. Conducted by Bertrand de Billy at the Vienna State Opera.
Mai Tosca alla scena…
On this day in 1968 the Metropolitan Opera presented Tosca, the first new production of this work since 1917.