Onegin, off again
The Ralph Fiennes production of Eugene Onegin at the Paris Opera is just…fine.
Recent Stories
The René Jacobs Giulio Cesare is so overrated
George Frideric Handel (born 341 years ago on Monday) composed over 40 operas including many masterpieces, but his Giulio Cesare is the one that everyone knows best.
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).
For my next trick
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under conductor Stéphane Denève plays up the schtick in a concert performance of The Magic Flute – and obscures Mozart’s magic in the process.
Tenue farfalla
“Soprano Aleksandra Kurzak will sing the role of Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, replacing Sonya Yoncheva, who has withdrawn from the run due to family reasons,” says the Met press office.
Dashed hopes
Joyce DiDonato makes the most of Kevin Puts‘s trite new Emily Dickinson monodrama.
Agent orange
That Trump opera at the Staatsoper Hamburg is lazy activism at its finest, we fear.
Diva down
An excellent Věc Makropulos at Opéra de Lille makes the case for the vitality and necessity of France’s regional companies.
The 1946 La traviata is so overrated
For all his undeniable precision and discipline, I still find Toscanini’s tempi rushed and unyielding and his lack of rubato a chilly turnoff.
By Peter Russell
194 comments
Broadcast
Manon Lescaut / Metropolitan Opera
Mirella Freni stars in a 1990 Metropolitan Opera performance chosen by Asmik Grigorian
Streamed February 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM
57 comments
Broadcast
Tristan und Isolde / Dutch National Opera
Malin Byström in her debut run as Isolde sings opposite Michael Weinius in a performance recorded last week in Amsterdam
Streamed February 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM
128 comments
Di qualità, di qualità!
San Diego Opera presents a strongly directed and cast revival of Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Some unholy wars
Caitlin Vincent‘s new book Opera Wars paints a persuasive picture of the problems facing opera today, though her solutions leave something to be desired.
Metropolitan Opera 2026–27 season announced
What is unmissable for you next season at Lincoln Center?
Was keinem in Worten ich künde
In Modena, Teodor Currentzis‘s Ring ohne Worte foregoes words but not gimmickry.
The 1957 Anna Bolena is so overrated
While the three leads do sing the material well, there has been a glut of recordings since then which are more complete and at least as well sung.
By Leyla Gender-Bender
212 comments
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.
Mother is mothering
Marina Rebeka comes tantalizingly close to triumph in Cherubini’s Médée at Théâtre des Champs Elysées.
The Solti Ring Cycle is so overrated
It was many decades ago that I first listened to the Solti Ring Cycle.
By Mister Snow
281 comments
Rave reviews
Hoping for a “Tristan for the ages” in New York next month, John Danaher considers five versions of Tristan’s Act III “Muss ich dich so verstehn” for “Perspectives on an Aria.”
Baroque in the Bay Area
Under the baton of Nicholas McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale proves they have a magic touch in a program of Rameau and Handel.
A shtetl aesthetic
Austin Opera’s moving production of Fiddler on the Roof grounds itself in lived tradition, to great effect.
The 1959 Aïda is so overrated
Karajan’s 1959 Aïda was once treated like gospel, a wall of plush Vienna Philharmonic sound and star power that critics dutifully genuflected before.
Broadcast
Idomeneo / Metropolitan Opera
A performance from 1986 featuring David Rendall, Frederica von Stade, and Hildegard Behrens curated by Joyce DiDonato
Streamed February 14, 2026 at 1:00 PM
178 comments