Mother of Exiles Mother of Exiles

Born on this day in 1849 poet Emma Lazarus.

Cold as ice Cold as ice

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Kommen Sie und hören Sie das Wiegenlied des Broadway! Kommen Sie und hören Sie das Wiegenlied des Broadway!

The Bayerische Staatsorchester with General Music Director Kirill Petrenko plays music by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Frederick Loewe, Leonard Bernstein, Rodgers and Hammerstein and more.

“I think women of my age are still attractive” “I think women of my age are still attractive”

Happy 81st birthday actress Diana Rigg.

She’s a stranger here herself She’s a stranger here herself

The four leading roles in La Straniera were all attractively cast by Teatro Nuovo with fresh, promising young voices that did not seem quite ready for the big time.

It ain’t necessarily hojotoho It ain’t necessarily hojotoho

Operawire.

No one can ever say I didn’t sing No one can ever say I didn’t sing

Born on this day in 1868 soprano Florence Foster Jenkins.

Anna one, Anna two Anna one, Anna two

Trove Thursday offers Bellini’s La Sonnambula with Anna Moffo (San Francisco 1960) and Anna Netrebko (Vienna 2006).

Berlin wall Berlin wall

Why did I mostly want to close my eyes and just listen?

L’oiseau d’or L’oiseau d’or

Born on this day in 1821 mezzo-soprano, pedagogue and composer Pauline Viardot.

Muh booklet Muh booklet

“Will no one shed a tear for obsolescent analog technology?”

Wheeling: Summer of 1914 Wheeling: Summer of 1914

Born on this day in 1914 soprano Eleanor Steber.

It’s the Minnesinger not the song It’s the Minnesinger not the song

Tannhäuser pales beside the other great Wagnerian operas in the degree to which it has innovated the Regisseur’s vocabulary for set design and dramaturgy.

There is no spoon There is no spoon

Can a work with indisputably great music fail to add up to a successful opera? I puzzled over that Sunday during Teatro Nuovo’s essential concert staging of Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra at SUNY Purchase.

“Rhythm is born in all of us” “Rhythm is born in all of us”

Born on this day in 1911 actress, dancer and singer Ginger Rogers.

Moody “Blue” Moody “Blue”

The Glimmerglass Festival premiered a searing examination of race, identity, and the fraught relationship between communities of color and law enforcement. Blue, with a score by Jeanine Tesori and libretto by Tazewell Thompson.

When off-off was on to something When off-off was on to something

Promenade is a powder keg but the powder may not be as explosive as it hints.

Flower girl Flower girl

Happy 40th birthday to Broadway’s Laura Benanti.

Leading the people Leading the people

Happy Bastille Day!

Primavera Primavera

Born on this day in 1924 tenor Carlo Bergonzi.

Venusberg in furs Venusberg in furs

Le Gateau Chocolat will make his Bayreuth Festival debut in a new production of Tannhäuser on July 25.

Ah tweet mystery of life Ah tweet mystery of life

“…newfound celebrity on Twitter, where she is beloved by some of opera’s most ardent fans.”

Overnight sensation Overnight sensation

Born on this day in 1895 soprano Kirsten Flagstad.

Town of nets Town of nets

The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, broadcast live from Aix-en-Provence, begins at 2:00 PM.