Doublet trouble
A messy new I puritani at the Met is a historic and historical disappointment.
Recent Stories
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Elina Garanča in Aïda
Elina Garanča scaled the vocal and dramatic summits of the Judgement Duet and Scene in the May series of Aïda.
By La Grunow
Comment
The offal truth
“Call me traditional, but I want to see a silver platter!”
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Der Freischütz
A staged Freischütz is rare enough in itself to be the highlight of any opera season, but it was in Christoph Marthaler‘s Antwerp production that I connected with the characters and felt the story for the first time.
By Remko Jas
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Broadcast
Die schweigsame Frau / Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Christian Thielemann conducts a performance recorded this summer in Berlin
Streamed January 3, 2026 at 2:00 PM
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Broadcast
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay / Metropolitan Opera
The new opera by Mason Bates and Gene Scheer in a performance recorded in New York last fall
Streamed January 3, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Comment
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Breaking the Waves
Houston Grand Opera’s 2025 Breaking the Waves was absolutely my highlight of the year!
Staring into the abbess
Dan Johnson gives an inside look at the creation of Sarah Kirkland Snider‘s rapturous new opera Hildegard which opens at New York’s PROTOTYPE Festival next week.
Car Park Casta Diva
Fine music-making meets a clunker of a production in La Monnaie‘s revival of Norma
My heart belongs to daddy
This week, Parterre Box shares Quinn Kelsey and Jennifer Rowley in a duet from a Verdi opera rumored to be returning to New York this time next season.
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Giulio Cesare
In the spring, The English Concert completed a three-city tour performing a concert version of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
Broadcast
I Puritani / Metropolitan Opera
A live New Year's Eve broadcast from New York featuring Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee
Streamed December 31, 2025 at 5:55 PM
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Broadcast
Die Fledermaus / Wiener Staatsoper
Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau celebrate New Years Eve live from Vienna
Streamed December 31, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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Say it to my face
Two weeks remain for you to submit your thoughts for this spring’s The Talk of the Town.
A New Years’ Toast from 1984 Covent Garden
What better sentiment can we embrace as the year ends then to hope, often against against hope, for peace and love in a world of chaos?
By Baritenor
Comment
Parterre Box un*wrapped, 2025
The ten most-“read” stories of this truly f*cked-up year
Off the rim and off the wall
Ivy Lin searches for a slam dunk version of Elvira’s Mad Scene from I puritani in the latest “Perspectives on an Aria.”
O stars of wonder, stars of night
A starry (and potentially annual) Christmas gala lights up Carnegie Hall.
Happy New Year from Ettore Bastianini and Giulietta Simionato
I am sure many of us will post the Fledermaus gala, but it doesn’t get better than this, even in a Fledermaus gala
By Leyla Gender-Bender
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Juan Diego Flórez sings “Auld Lang Syne”
If you’ve ever been to Juan Diego Flórez‘s recitals, you’ll know the part most of the audience is waiting for is when he takes out his guitar.
By Ivy Lin
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Broadcast
La damnation de Faust / Théâtre des Champs Elysées
Benjamin Bernheim and Victoria Karkacheva star in a production recorded last month at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Streamed December 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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Broadcast
Handel at the Met / Metropolitan Opera
The Met celebrates 300 years of Rodelinda with a look back at over 40 years of Handel performances at the house
Streamed December 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Eileen Farrell sings Christmas carols
Eileen Farrell could sing in all genres. I call her the queen of crossover, especially in her bluesy albums. Eileen Farrell, like Miami, you’ve got style!
By Scott Grunow
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Lisette Oropesa sings “Gesù bambino”
Lovely Christmas carol by Pietro Yon, “Gesù bambino” as sung by The Greatest Thing Ever at a Christmas concert in Ravello in 2021. Beautiful!
By grimoaldo2
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