Monkey business
The Monkey King at San Francisco Opera combines spectacle and sentiment.
Recent Stories
Broadcast
Lohengrin / Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Michele Mariotti conducts Dmitry Korchak, Jennifer Holloway, Tómas Tómasson, and Ekaterina Gubanova in a live, season-opening broadcast from Rome
Streamed November 27, 2025 at 12:15 PM
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Oceanic feeling
Grand Tier Grab Bag features a complete performance of Ernest Chausson‘s Poème de l’amour et de la mer ahead of a particular year for both its soloist and conductor.
I’m still thinking about Martin Kusej’s Rusalka
The production is based on the Elisabeth Fritzl story, and it really made me reconsider this opera’s fairy tale storyline.
By Ivy Lin
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Everything the light touches
Vincent Lombardo pays poetic tribute to the 60-year-long career of Robert Wilson.
Hear, O Israel
As Messiah season begins, Christopher Corwin reports on two of Handel’s forays into the Old Testament.
By Christopher Corwin
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Broadcast
Andrea Chénier / Metropolitan Opera
Umberto Giordano's verismo opera in a live broadcast from New York
Streamed November 24, 2025 at 7:25 PM
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I’m getting married in the morning
Washington National Opera presented a well-sung and humorous Marriage of Figaro, buoyed by clever direction and a strong cast, particularly Rosa Feola’s Countess and Joélle Harvey’s Susanna.
Medieval Times
Carl Orff’s cantata tries its fortunes at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
By Christina Colanduoni
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I’m still thinking about Peter Sellars’s Così fan tutte
I never thought an opera production could be this well done.
By Brian Newhouse
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Broadcast
Boris Godunov / Opéra de Lyon
Dmitry Ulyanov sings the title role in a performance recorded last month at the Opéra de Lyon
Streamed November 22, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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Broadcast
Wozzeck / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Simon Rattle conducts performance recorded in Munich last month with Christian Gerhaher and Malin Byström
Streamed November 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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We’re still thinking about Robert Carsen’s Mefistofele
Les Camilles both agree on this one. And WHY? You ask??!
By Les Camilles
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La fiamma è bella!
A new recording of La fiamma from Deutsche Oper Berlin sets Respighi’s score ablaze.
Celebrate good times
Austin Opera’s 40th anniversary gala celebrated the present while gesturing boldly towards the future.
Broadcast
La clemenza di Tito / Teatro la Fenice
Ivor Bolton conducts Daniel Behle, Anastasia Bartoli, and Cecilia Molinari in a live broadcast from Venice
Streamed November 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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Pride in your work
Pittsburgh Opera’s Fellow Travelers delivers a timely story with detail and care.
Blue it
Jeanine Tesori’s Blue is an ambitious and worthy opera that deserves a better presentation than it got at Lincoln Center on Saturday.
I’m still thinking about Krzysztof Warlikowski’s Lulu
Barbara Hannigan‘s Lulu is the greatest live performance I’ve seen.
By Kevin Ng
Comment
Alien encounter
“Protect the dolls, they say, but who really cares for them?” This question, posed by performer Mara Snip during the postlude of Neuköllner Oper’s 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, had a clear answer: Aliens.
Closer to fine
Grand Tier Grab Bag looks forward to a big week for Umberto Giordano by sharing Sondra Radvanovsky and Gregory Kunde performing the final duet from Andrea Chénier.
Scarcity mindset
Michael Thalmeier‘s Tristan und Isolde in Berlin asks, how much minimalism is too much minimalism?
I’m still thinking about Hans Neuenfels’s Lohengrin
Who are the rats? Why are their tails getting longer? Is Lohengrin a rat trying to free himself from a maze?
By Rowna Sutin
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Broadcast
Carmen / Metropolitan Opera
Isabel Leonard sings the title role in a live broadcast from New York
Streamed November 17, 2025 at 7:25 PM
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