Luciano Pavarotti sings “O Holy Night”
A beautiful Christmas album is Pavarotti‘s ‘Oh, Holy Night” conducted by Kurt Herbert Adler.
By Mr. Portafiori
Comment
Recent Stories
Broadcast
Partenope / Teatro San Carlo
Ennio Morricone's only opera heard in a performance recorded last week in Naples
Streamed December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Comment
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).
Life in the Faust lane
Théâtre de l’Athénée Louis-Jouvet mounts a raucous production of Hervé’s Le petit Faust.
Broadcast
The Magic Flute / Metropolitan Opera
A performance of the beloved (and inescapable) abridged English-language version of Mozart's Singspiel live from New York
Streamed December 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Comment
Better the devil you know
America’s own Faust gets a compelling operatic treatment, courtesy of DC’s IN Series
Malena Ernman sings “Jul, jul, strålande jul”
This has been my favorite Christmas song since I first heard this performance, the opening track of Malena Ernman‘s first Christmas album.
By Alben Barg
Comment
Broadcast
Fidelio / Wiener Staatsoper
Malin Byström and David Butt Philip lead a new production by Nicholas Habjan in a live video broadcast from Vienna
Streamed December 19, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Mein Lieder Schwan
Matthew Polenzani charms the pants off of Philadelphia.
Anne-Sofie von Otter sings “Koppangen”
There’s plenty of full-on Christmas music to love in Anne Sophie von Otter‘s “Home for Christmas.”
By Larry Rudiger
Comment
Capital punishment
A patchy production and musical performance can’t dull the edge of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Komische Oper Berlin
Saint-Ex marks the spot
Washington National Opera’s holiday presentation of The Little Prince, based on the classic French novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, showcased the company’s Cafritz Young Artists
Christmas with Renata Scotto at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
I bought this album because I found the photo on the cover to be Camp.
By feliks
Comment
I listen to the wind of my soul
Washington Concert Opera began its 39th season last month with Christoph Willibald Gluck’s late masterpiece Iphigénie en Tauride.
When Pushkin comes to shove
An incoherent production of Ruslan and Lyudmila at the Hamburg State Opera may dispense with the fantastical, but Glinka‘s magic remains.
Ritorna un’altra volta
Parterre Box anticipates Ailyn Peréz‘s upcoming New York performances of Madama Butterfly with the Puccini role most closely associated with her
Renata Tebaldi sings “Tu scendi dalle stelle”
When I first listened years ago as a baby opera queen to Tebaldi‘s 1971 “Christmas Festival,” I could not get over just how enfeebled she sounded.
By Harry Rose
Comment
Broadcast
Fidelio / Wiener Staatsoper
A live radio broadcast from Vienna featuring Malin Byström and David Butt Philip.
Streamed December 16, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Old friends, new friends
Les Arts Florissants present two ravishing programs in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Now I’m an old believer
Big voices overwhelm Claus Guth‘s toothless staging of Khovanshchina at the Berlin Staatsoper.
“Last Christmas” at the 2014 Christmas in Vienna concert
“Vesselina’s Chest Voice” is my new drag name.
By Kevin Ng
Comment
Broadcast
Andrea Chénier / Metropolitan Opera
Daniele Rustioni conducts Giordano's melodrama live from New York
Streamed December 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Sublime loneliness
Across three evenings at the 92nd Street Y, Konstantin Krimmel and Ammiel Bushakevitz traversed all of Schubert‘s major song cycles with stark intensity.
Broadcast
Faust / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Pene Pati sings the title role in a live broadcast from Amsterdam
Streamed December 13, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Comment