Do the locomotion
As my friend and I Ubered out to the luxurious Cobb Energy Centre for Atlanta Opera’s La traviata, I had trains on the mind.
Recent Stories
Everything is “and,” not “or”
James Gaffigan, the incoming Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, strikes a balance between New World precision and Old World flair in repertoire, staging, and wine
I’m still thinking about Bob Wilson’s Le trouvère
At every turn, the preconceived notion of Trovatore was denied, right down to the boxing during the ballet.
By Harry Rose
Comment
Broadcast
Falstaff / La Monnaie / De Munt
Simon Keenlyside sings the title role in a performance recorded last month in Brussels
Streamed November 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Comment
Damned to hell
Only the singers, led by Benjamin Bernheim, can salvage a dismal La Damnation de Faust at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées.
Animal house
Ursula Sturgeon looks at the furry opera company HowlAria and discovers that maybe one man’s Callas recording collection is another man’s fursuit.
I’m still thinking about David McVicar’s Giulio Cesare
With Cesare’s old-school rules of war set spinning by Cleopatra’s Bollywood-inspired manipulations, a Da Capo aria has never felt more dangerous
By Baritenor
Comment
Beyond the wail
Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at Lyric Opera of Chicago are hysterical in all the wrong ways.
Comic relief
Pacific Opera Project’s high-spirited revival of Fra Diavolo is both therapy and an escape.
On the chase
Grand Tier Grab Bag marks the Metropolitan Opera return of Daniele Rustioni with a zippy performance of the Royal Hunt and Storm from Les Troyens recorded in 2022 in Munich.
Broadcast
La fille du régiment / Metropolitan Opera
Lawrence Brownlee and Erin Morley star in a live broadcast from New York
Streamed November 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Comment
The replacements
Second casts in Don Giovanni and Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera offer mixed blessings.
I’m still thinking about Barrie Kosky’s Dialogues des Carmélites
Barrie Kosky’s incredible production widened and universalized the ending.
By Jon Taylor
Comment
Broadcast
Lucrezia Borgia / Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Jessica Pratt leads a live broadcast from the Florence's Maggio Musicale
Streamed November 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Comment
To our glorious dead
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra offered a rending reading of Britten‘s massive War Requiem with an eclectic trio of soloists.
Broadcast
Arabella / Metropolitan Opera
Rachel Willis-Sørensen sings the title role in a live broadcast from New York
Streamed November 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Comment
We wear the masque
A brief concert at the Frick Collection teases the multifaceted artistry of Davóne Tines
Tag team
The women were the highlights of Washington National Opera’s militaristic Aïda
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s Dialogues of the Carmelites
The opening of John Dexter‘s production of The Dialogues of the Carmelites (originally produced in English) is one of the most arresting and memorable images I have ever seen.
By Michael MacMullen
Comment
Broadcast
Acis and Galatea / Cappella Mediterranea
The forces of Cappellla Mediterranea lead a performance recorded in Namur last month
Streamed November 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Comment
Broadcast
Aïda / Paris Opera
Ewa Plonka, Piotr Beczala, and Ève-Maud Hubeaux star in a performance recorded last month (and reviewed here) in Paris
Streamed November 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Comment
Broadcast
Die Zauberflöte / Royal Ballet and Opera
Lucy Crowe, Amitai Pati, Huw Montague Rendall, and Kathryn Lewek lead a performance recorded in London last month
Streamed November 8, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
I’m still thinking about Laurent Pelly’s The Golden Cockerel
In a lifetime of opera going I suppose I have seen many transformative productions, but this recent one seems, in the light of the increasing disaster enfolding this country, uncannily pertinent.
By Belfagor
Comment
Let’s do the time warp again
Tobias Kratzer‘s time-traveling Arabella from the Deutsche Oper Berlin, now available on DVD, turns the opera’s problems into its strengths.