Recent Stories
La sonnambula at Teatro Nuovo overcomes uneven casting to highlight the many charms of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece
Performances of Pittori fiamminghi and Madama Butterfly in picturesque Castell’Arquato were a fine way to honor Luigi Illica, the city’s native son
A new opera by Sivan Eldar and Ganavya Doraiswami from the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
Parterre Box over the last few years has become the MOST USELESS website.
Music for New Bodies at Lincoln Center’s Running AMOC* Festival proves Matthew Aucoin really is everything he’s made out to be
Jake Heggie writes operas like a Restoration Hardware couch—soft, expensive, and allergic to mess.
Christian Thielemann conducts a live broadcast from Berlin
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Drink me
Drink me
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Otherwise occupied
Otherwise occupied
Parterre Box features a performance from two belcantisti who would rather you not think about their political affiliations.
Parterre Box features a performance from two belcantisti who would rather you not think about their political affiliations.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Northern star
Northern star
Parterre Box previews an upcoming performance of Hercules with Ann Hallenberg in some very unique Baroque repertoire.
Parterre Box previews an upcoming performance of Hercules with Ann Hallenberg in some very unique Baroque repertoire.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Tra voi belle
Tra voi belle
Following the announcement that she’ll make her Met debut next season, Grand Tier Grab Bag brings Italian soprano Erika Grimaldi to your attention with a duet from Manon Lescaut.
Following the announcement that she’ll make her Met debut next season, Grand Tier Grab Bag brings Italian soprano Erika Grimaldi to your attention with a duet from Manon Lescaut.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
León in winter
León in winter
Ahead of his performance in Les pêcheurs de perles with Washington Concert Opera, Parterre Box features the unusually elegant Anthony León performing Mozart.
Ahead of his performance in Les pêcheurs de perles with Washington Concert Opera, Parterre Box features the unusually elegant Anthony León performing Mozart.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Assai più vale il soglio
che un genitor perduto
Assai più vale il soglio
che un genitor perduto
Parterre Box highlights a busy few months of Verdi performances for Marina Rebeka and Ludovic Tézier with an exciting sample of their debuts in Nabucco.
Parterre Box highlights a busy few months of Verdi performances for Marina Rebeka and Ludovic Tézier with an exciting sample of their debuts in Nabucco.
The musical virtues of Anna Moffo have heretofore eluded me.
With the 2025 Bayreuth Festival beginning next week, Grand Tier Grab Bag spotlights the Eva of its opening Meistersinger: Christina Nilsson
Jacquelyn Stucker talks to Kevin Ng about repertoire, tearing down the Fach system, and what it takes to make music from baroque to George Benjamin her own.
It’s like making love with someone whose rap never ceases—and includes “helpful suggestions” about how you can be improving your game.
Chris’s Cache would argue that Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery is a much more enjoyable alternative to the pandemic-canceled Barrie Kosky The Fiery Angel
Wolf Trap Opera kicked off its summer season with an inventive production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro inspired by Pablo Picasso that showcased up-and-coming singers.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite bass performance from Cornelia
A favorite bass performance from Cornelia
I don’t know if I’ll ever hear as great a performance as René Pape‘s Gurnemanz.
I don’t know if I’ll ever hear as great a performance as René Pape‘s Gurnemanz.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite bass performance from Bere Wendriner
A favorite bass performance from Bere Wendriner
Cesare Siepi and Giulio Neri give a reference rendition of the Grand Inquisitor scene.
Cesare Siepi and Giulio Neri give a reference rendition of the Grand Inquisitor scene.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite bass performance from Ivy Lin
A favorite bass performance from Ivy Lin
Not much to say here. Legendary bass Mark Reizen was born in the USSR and thus never got to tour much to the west.
Not much to say here. Legendary bass Mark Reizen was born in the USSR and thus never got to tour much to the west.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite bass performance from Krunoslav
A favorite bass performance from Krunoslav
Boris Christoff’s Procida (along with Cerquetti’s Elena) lifts Mario Rossi’s RAI Torino Vespri to distinction.
Boris Christoff’s Procida (along with Cerquetti’s Elena) lifts Mario Rossi’s RAI Torino Vespri to distinction.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite bass performance from Michael Landman-Karny
A favorite bass performance from Michael Landman-Karny
If I must choose a single bass performance, it is still Boris Christoff’s Boris Godunov.
If I must choose a single bass performance, it is still Boris Christoff’s Boris Godunov.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite bass performance from Kevin Ng
A favorite bass performance from Kevin Ng
Boris Christoff‘s sound is justly famous, and his vocal splendor is on full display here.
Boris Christoff‘s sound is justly famous, and his vocal splendor is on full display here.
Despite having endured premiers at the Santa Fe Opera, including Cold Mountain, Oscar, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, all of which were disappointing on every level, Santa Fe Opera’s 2011 production of Menotti‘s The Last Savage is an opera I never care to see or listen to again.
When such a canonically ossified work like Verdi’s Aïda is directed at all (let alone as ambitiously as Damiano Michieletto at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), it does feel like a completely different opera
A performance of Cavalli‘s opera recorded last week at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
Joan Sutherland as Norma is something I’ve never been able to get.
A live video broadcast from Zurich starring Saimir Pirgu in the title role
A live broadcast from the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
The opening of Teatro Nuovo’s Macbeth next week is the first of two opportunities this year to hear the opera in its original 1847 Version