Il trovatore Il trovatore

“A Colossal Il Trovatore in Beijing”

The other side The other side

On this day in 1900 David Belasco‘s play Madame Butterfly opened at The Duke of York’s Theatre in London with Blanche Bates in the title role.

Anna Bolena Anna Bolena

Anna Netrebko takes on the title role!

‘Glass’ dismissed ‘Glass’ dismissed

Yet there remain some memories and impressions I know we’d both like to share—on a few stage performances, memorable in various ways, so how about one more roundup?

Madama Butterfly Madama Butterfly

Kristine Opolais and Piero Pretti star in a performance from Vienna in 2016.

Lady’s choice Lady’s choice

On this day in 1895 Lillian Nordica sang Leonora to Francesco Tamagno‘s Manrico in the tenor’s Met farewell.

Take Me to the World Take Me to the World

Tout le monde assembles online to celebrate the 90th birthday of Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim.

Changing the lockdown Changing the lockdown

HERE’s Zoom opera, all decisions will be made by consensus, is not merely an opera written to be performed on a digital platform, but an opera that critiques the platform itself, laying bare all its social and aesthetic limitations.

Xerxes Xerxes

Stefan Herheim directs this Handel production for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

I’ll laugh tomorrow I’ll laugh tomorrow

Happy 87th birthday to actress and comedian Carol Burnett.

Metropolitan Opera At-Home Gala Metropolitan Opera At-Home Gala

Peter Gelb and Yannick Nézet-Séguin welcome over 40 Met stars to an online concert.

Hab’ mir’s gelobt Hab’ mir’s gelobt

Born on this day in 1918 soprano Astrid Varnay.

La traviata La traviata

Natalie Dessay, Matthew Polenzani and Dmitri Hvorostovsky star in this Live in HD video from April 14, 2012.

Il viaggio a Reims Il viaggio a Reims

Patrizia Ciofi, Daniela Barcellona, Annick Massis, Carmela Remigio and Juan Francisco Gatell are heard in this 2009 performance from La Scala.

‘Glass’ act ‘Glass’ act

Katharine Hepburn is better than I remembered, including making a reasonable attempt at a Southern accent. And, of course, there is distinctive star quality to burn, as well as interpretive intelligence.

Her name is Barbra Her name is Barbra

Happy 78th birthday singer, actress and filmmaker Barbra Streisand.

The Merry Widow The Merry Widow

Starring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara and Nathan Gunn, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. From January 17, 2015.

L’elisir d’amore L’elisir d’amore

Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani and Ambrogio Maestri star in this 2015 live performance from Munich.

A perpetual contrast A perpetual contrast

Trove Thursday completes its Prévosttrifecta with Puccini’s Manon Lescaut starring Sondra Radvanovsky and (pre-Met) Aleksandrs Antonenko conducted by Riccardo Chailly plus an added Radvanovsky-Puccini bonus: Suor Angelica.

Heart of ‘Glass’ Heart of ‘Glass’

Shirley Booth‘s Amanda reminds us again of her astonishing range, and truly unique (yes, a word I hate, but I mean it here) ability to mix heartbreak and humor in the same breath.

Unsentimental lady Unsentimental lady

On this day in 2015 Chita Rivera opened her 18th Broadway show as the star of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Terrence McNally‘s The Visit.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Starring Anna Netrebko, Kathleen Kim, Ekaterina Gubanova, Joseph Calleja and Alan Held, conducted by James Levine.

A ‘Glass’ half empty A ‘Glass’ half empty

More than any actor I’ve seen on stage or screen, John Malkovich communicates the essential ambiguity of the character.

Fidelio Fidelio

From April 29, 2019, a live performance from Vienna featuring Anne Schwanewilms and Brandon Jovanovich.