The glamorous life
Happy 96th birthday actress Glynis Johns.
Recent Stories
“I only do what I like to do”
Happy 63rd birthday actor Christoph Waltz.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Hot takes, get your hot takes here
“In none of this was he ever anything close to perfect. Great artists never are. Without their devils there would be no angels.”
Turandot
Join us, cher public and stranger alike, for tonight’s broadcast.
Miss me blind
Which soprano, who’s so talented you’d think her career would go on forever, has quietly decided to retire following her current not every eventful season?
A Norman conquest
When I first heard of this broadcast my thought was to save it to celebrate Jessye Norman‘s 75th birthday in 2020.
Direct and terrible
Born on this day in 1859 actress Eleanora Duse.
Goodbye Los Angeles: Domingo resigns
“The opera superstar Plácido Domingo resigned from his position as general director of Los Angeles Opera and withdrew from his upcoming performances there on Wednesday. ” [New York Times]
The other woman
I can’t think of an opera this year that I’ve enjoyed as much as Tuesday’s Met Macbeth, thanks especially to the smashing house debut of Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi as its blazing Madame M.
“I intend to live forever, or die trying”
Born on this day in 1890 actor, comedian, author and television personality Groucho Marx.
Come and knock on her door
High concept! Joyce DiDonato is Mrs. Roper!
Sunday will never be the same
Surely no one can be surprised to learn that the departure of Plácido Domingo from the Met was the most-read story on parterre box for the month of September.
“Sometimes I’m so sweet even I can’t stand it”
Happy 84th birthday Julie Andrews!
Race-bait to the bottom
That’s right, it’s September 30, 2019 and Venomous Fishwife Norman Lebrecht claims this is the first time in his entire life he has heard that some people might find Turandot offensive.
Jessye Norman 1945-2019
The Grammy winning opera and concert singer is dead. She was 74.
From a distance
The opening night of the Canadian Opera Company’s 2019-20 season was all about the Wilsons.
Sparkle, Lyric, sparkle!
It’s an old chestnut of a joke that applies even more to opera than to the theatre: A veteran actor is on his deathbed.
The Philadelphia stories
As we also saw last year, Festival O19 ended on a sweetly quiet note, movingly connecting Opera Philadelphia with the larger city and our musical future.
Sleeper
As the Netrebko-crowned Macbeth took to the stage at the Met, just a few blocks away, Teatro Grattacielo presented its 25th Anniversary Gala Concert.
Star-flaming
On this day in 1791 Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte premiered in Vienna.
Martin Bernheimer 1936-2019
Critic Martin Bernheimer has died. He was 83.
If I had a photograph of you
I’m certain I wasn’t the only one thrilled to bits to see LA Opera’s production of La Bohème finally retired after 26 years and seven mountings.
Here I stand, the goddess of desire
Born on this day in 1942 actress Madeline Kahn.