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I had my head in my hands groaning in disbelief instead of joining in the general applause around me.
Happy 70th birthday soprano Catherine Malfitano.
New York has neon, Berlin has bars, but, ah! Parigi!
La Cieca, fashion arbiter though she may be, cannot figure out what is going on with this day-to-evening (and then some) look Sonya Yoncheva is flaunting.
Happy 78th (or so) birthday to soprano/mezzo-soprano Anja Silja.
Astonishing Angela Gheorghiu blows a kiss and takes a bow after her role debut as Rose in Gypsy.
Francesca da Rimini was performed at La Scala four times in 1950 and five times in 1959.
April brought I Puritani to Palermo’s centerpiece Teatro Massimo.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
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.
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.
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.
Nailin’ the coughin’
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Landing the plane
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
Le galant tireur
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
Since his death, Mackerras has had not very much interesting to say aside from “Avenge me!”
Opera premieres on this day: Handel’s Alcina (London, 1735), Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète (Paris, 1849) and Gounod’s Sapho (Paris, 1851).
“Ma Joad is no doubt the most challenging role of my career thus far,” observed Fleming.
On this day in 1939, the Metropolitan Opera on tour in New Orleans presented Carmen featuring Bruna Castagna in the title role.
The love and intrigue begin at 12:30 PM.
On this day in 1883 Leo Delibes’ Lakmé premiered in Paris.
As far as prewar Italian verismo goes, L’amore dei tre re is a supernova.
Why, only now, Cendrillon is having its premiere at the Met is a puzzling question.
Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
A favorite Verdi performance from Arrigo
My favorite Verdi performance is Claudio Abbado Don Carlo opening of the Scala.
My favorite Verdi performance is Claudio Abbado Don Carlo opening of the Scala.
A favorite Verdi performance from Peter Russell
The purely musical performance preserved here is thrilling, ratcheted to a higher intensity than the Deutsche Grammophon studio recording
The purely musical performance preserved here is thrilling, ratcheted to a higher intensity than the Deutsche Grammophon studio recording
A favorite Verdi performance from TC
Victoria de los Ángeles has always been my Violetta of choice, a portrayal that never ceases to move me.
Victoria de los Ángeles has always been my Violetta of choice, a portrayal that never ceases to move me.
A favorite Verdi performance from Anna Netrebko
I feel that the best years of Maria Callas’s vocalità, when we hear such a unique freedom and generosity in her singing, were captured in her early recordings.
I feel that the best years of Maria Callas’s vocalità, when we hear such a unique freedom and generosity in her singing, were captured in her early recordings.
A heady audience paid top price to pack Carnegie Hall Thursday for just 80 minutes of unstaged Wagner.
Born on this day: four divas and counting!
After an early Saturday shift bar-backing at Aura Bar, Evan had trotted over to his friend Jesús Halévy’s for a late-night slumber party à deux.
“Trove Thursday” offers one of Rameau’s rarest full-length works, Acante et Céphise featuring The English Concert conducted by Trevor Pinnock.
Born on this day in 1898 soprano Lily Pons. Happy 85th birthday soprano Montserrat Caballé and happy 70th birthday soprano Mariella Devia!
Yusif Eyvazov will sing the role of Cavaradossi in the first four performances of the spring run of Puccini’s Tosca, replacing Marcelo Álvarez.
If one looks at trends in the last 40 or so years, the most successful Normas are mainly those who’ve made not just bel canto, but Bellini as a mainstay in their repertoire.
On this day in 1975 soprano Katia Ricciarelli made her Met debut as Mimi.
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