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Trove Thursday presents La Périchole featuring Frederica von Stade’s only performance of the title role in a rare NYC concert version narrated by the inimitable Madeline Kahn.
Brigitte Fassbaender‘s sound is piquant and, I’d hazard to guess, instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with her work.
On this day in 1967, the Metropolitan Opera presented La Gioconda as part of Lincoln Center’s Festival ’67.
Madonna‘s dream of singing at La Scala has been dashed!
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” went the introduction to the 1940s radio program The Shadow, an apt description for the San Francisco Opera’s production of Rusalka.
Born on this day 1854 composer Alfredo Catalani.
Everett Quinton’s Galas is a star at the end of her tether, and she goes nova with the best.
The opening night of a new production of Verdi’s opera (plus Lisette Oropesa‘s La Scala debut!) will be broadcast live starting at 2:00 PM.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Kathryn the great
Kathryn the great
Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.
Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Count your blessings
Count your blessings
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
One man’s Junker
One man’s Junker
Handel’s Deidamia — and one of its current champions, soprano Sophie Junker — are the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Handel’s Deidamia — and one of its current champions, soprano Sophie Junker — are the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Don’t cry because it’s over
Don’t cry because it’s over
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
When they go low
When they go low
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
While Luciano Pavarotti may have brought opera to the people, once he realized how lucrative it could be, there was a string of promoters who helped him turn all that adoration into cold hard cash.
In the triumphant American premiere of Orlando Generoso at the Boston Early Music Festival last week, the hippogriff was among the many stars of the show.
Happy 76th birthday soprano Eva Marton.
Elina Garanca was radiantly present at Carnegie Hall Friday night performing a ravishingly somber Rückert-Lieder with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the MET Orchestra.
Michael Fabiano is a boss. This is a fact.
Born on this day in 1818 composer Charles-François Gounod.
“How far should we give way to grief? How far dare we, without disaster?”
Born on this day in 1899 dramatic soprano Helen Traubel.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
Barbara Hannigan should make it to the Met
Barbara Hannigan should make it to the Met
The fact that Barbara Hannigan has never performed at The Metropolitan Opera is just plain dumb.
The fact that Barbara Hannigan has never performed at The Metropolitan Opera is just plain dumb.
The Talk of the Town
Robert Rounseville should have made it to the Met
Robert Rounseville should have made it to the Met
From one Mister Snow to another, I salute him.
From one Mister Snow to another, I salute him.
The Talk of the Town
Denise Duval should have made it to the Met
Denise Duval should have made it to the Met
I decided I’d take ‘never made it to the Met’ as an excuse to submit a post about why French soprano Denise Duval (1921-2015) is special to me.
I decided I’d take ‘never made it to the Met’ as an excuse to submit a post about why French soprano Denise Duval (1921-2015) is special to me.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Eli Jacobson
A favorite Verdi performance from Eli Jacobson
The immortal Renata Tebaldi, just about 29 years old as Saint Joan in a RAI broadcast of Giovanna d’Arco from 1951.
The immortal Renata Tebaldi, just about 29 years old as Saint Joan in a RAI broadcast of Giovanna d’Arco from 1951.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Larry Wolff
A favorite Verdi performance from Larry Wolff
The mesmerizing run of Trovatore in October 2015 at the Met, a few months after we learned that Hvorostovsky was dying
The mesmerizing run of Trovatore in October 2015 at the Met, a few months after we learned that Hvorostovsky was dying
The legendary opera and film director has died. He was 96.
Happy 89th birthday stage designer and director Pier Luigi Pizzi.
“Artists must at least be tethered to some amount of demonstrable empathy lest they risk the perception of solipsism.”
On this day in 1967 soprano Elisabeth Grümmer made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Elsa in Lohengrin.
“Trove Thursday” offers a vivid live complete broadcast from the 1952 US State Department tour of Porgy and Bess with William Warfield, Cab Calloway and the 25-year-old Leontyne Price.
Born on this day in 1926 actor and comedian Paul Lynde.
Once again we got a very frustrating performance of Orlando; this time a beautiful and completely coherent production marred by some sub-optimal singing.
“Short but straight backed, with broad shoulders and a broad smile, and equipped with marble arms whose contours are visible through his tailored black shirt, he communicates flexibility and easy control.”
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