Swing and miss
The oddball pairing of Bernie Williams and Jonathan Tetelman doesn’t quite knock it out of the park at Carnegie Hall.
Recent Stories
Broadcast
Carmen / Metropolitan Opera
A live broadcast from New York starring Aigul Akhmetshina and Michael Fabiano
Streamed January 17, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Comment
The best thing I saw in 2025 was St. John the Baptist
What do you get when you blend innovative 17th century composition, 1970s family drama, and one of the most sordid tales of the New Testament?
By Sasha Jernakoff
Comment
Nun the wiser
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard gives the Middle Ages the Bridgerton treatment at the Prototype Festival.
The best thing I saw this year was Das Rheingold
Tobias Kratzer‘s production of Das Rheingold at the Bayerische Staatsoper was a resounding success.
Strangeness in the proportion
A pairing of rarities makes for an inspired evening with the Brooklyn Art Song Society.
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Stiffelio
Looking back, this Stiffelio in Piacenza is the one I cherish the most.
By Placido Carrerotti
Comment
Broadcast
La bohème / Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Saimir Pirgu and Carolina López Moreno lead a live broadcast from Rome
Streamed January 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Comment
Erste Brautnacht
Nearly three years after the premiere of François Girard’s Lohengrin at the Met, Parterre Box looks back at the production with a duet from Piotr Beczala and Elena Stikhina.
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Amartuvshin Enkhbat
I wasn’t alive during the golden age of Verdi baritones like MacNeil, Warren, or Gobbi, but hearing Amartuvshin Enkhbat live in an opera house must be the next best thing.
By Mr. Fabulous
Comment
Lucky those people who are so anxious to believe
A high-drama Vanessa by the Boston Symphony Orchestra offers something to believe in.
Dad, I’m seria
Sir Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra strike (almost) all the right notes in their new recording of Mozart’s Idomeneo.
Music is a woman
Dan Johnson on the unique voice of Hildegard composer Sarah Kirkland Snider — and why some music could only ever be written by a woman.
The best things I saw in 2025 were vocal recitals
I’m going with four outstanding, deeply personal NYC recitals
By Krunoslav
Comment
The best thing I saw in 2025 was In a Grove
I had the pleasure of going with some members of the Pittsburgh Opera to the PROTOTYPE Festival in New York at the start of the year- almost unfortunate it was so early on in 2025 because it set my expectations for the year so high!
Broadcast
Vanessa / Boston Symphony Orchestra
Jennifer Holloway, Samantha Hankey, and Anne Sofie von Otter lead a live broadcast of Barber's opera from Boston
Streamed January 10, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Comment
Streamed January 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Broadcast
I puritani / Metropolitan Opera
A live broadcast of the new production of Bellini's opera live from New York
Streamed January 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Comment
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Festen
It’s a dazzling, shocking, and entertaining 100 minutes – one of the best new operas I’ve seen.
Broadcast
Madama Butterfly / Metropolitan Opera
Ailyn Pérez sings the title role in a live broadcast from New York
Streamed January 9, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Comment
Left of Center
Washington National Opera is leaving the Kennedy Center, according to The New York Times
Settling scores
Tobias Kratzer digs beneath the surface of Strauss‘s Intermezzo in an excellent new DVD from Deutsche Oper Berlin.
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Sunset Boulevard
I still don’t think Sunset Boulevard is a top-tier musical but it was by far the most memorable vocal performance I saw in 2025.
Tabled for now
Ahead of the return of Louise to the Opéra National de Lyon, Parterre Box features Elsa Dreisig in a much more famous French opera.