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L.A. Opera offered an inspired concert staging of Leonard Bernstein’s musical-comedy bouquet to New York, Wonderful Town.
Born on this day in 1896 lyricist Ira Gershwin.
Listen (starting at 7:55 PM) and and chat, cher public.
Anita Cerquetti had one of the most remarkable, most brief careers in opera in the past century.
Happy 70th birthday tenor José Carreras.
From the Bayerische Staatsoper, a live telecast of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, starting at 1:00 PM today.
Everyone’s favorite disingenuous alt-right music critic, Jay Nordlinger, explains that the real problem in opera today is not enough blackface.
Born on this day in 1921 Deanna Durbin.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Goodnight, Irene
Goodnight, Irene
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Poetic license
Poetic license
Parterre Box shines a light on Liparit Avetisyan, who made his Met debut as Alfredo earlier this spring.
Parterre Box shines a light on Liparit Avetisyan, who made his Met debut as Alfredo earlier this spring.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Frau Miina-Liisa will es werde Nacht
Frau Miina-Liisa will es werde Nacht
Parterre Box features soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä, making her title role debut in Die Walküre in Munich next week, in a performance of Tristan und Isolde from 2021.
Parterre Box features soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä, making her title role debut in Die Walküre in Munich next week, in a performance of Tristan und Isolde from 2021.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Lux aeterna luceat eis
Lux aeterna luceat eis
Grand Tier Grab Bag this week honors the late Limmie Pulliam with a bit of his Verdi Requiem.
Grand Tier Grab Bag this week honors the late Limmie Pulliam with a bit of his Verdi Requiem.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Kathryn the great
Kathryn the great
Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.
Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Count your blessings
Count your blessings
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
La Royale hostessed a Fridays Under 40 reception before the opera, then graced a parterre box during the performance.
Anna Netrebko will sing Turandot at the Met in a “forthcoming season.”
Get ready, cher public, for the first Met Saturday matinee broadcast.
This is our anniversary day, cher public.
On this day in 1953 the Wright-Forrest-Borodin musical Kismet opened on Broadway.
Much like Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, which launched the Met’s 2016-2017 season, Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin is an opera about love and death.
It is a good rule of thumb that if you emerge from a massive grand opera like Aida feeling any less than overwhelmed, you have a right to be somewhat disappointed.
On this day in 1840 Donizetti’s La Favorite premiered in Paris.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
Rafael Kubelik was a great opera conductor
Rafael Kubelik was a great opera conductor
Opera conductors … my favorite subject!
Opera conductors … my favorite subject!
The Talk of the Town
Herbert von Karajan was a great opera conductor
Herbert von Karajan was a great opera conductor
He has conducted some of my favorite opera recordings.
He has conducted some of my favorite opera recordings.
The Talk of the Town
Ernest Ansermet was a great opera conductor
Ernest Ansermet was a great opera conductor
Although Ernest Ansermet is most often associated with orchestral music, his 1964 recording of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is still my favorite.
Although Ernest Ansermet is most often associated with orchestral music, his 1964 recording of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande is still my favorite.
The Talk of the Town
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a great opera conductor
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a great opera conductor
Historically, conductors were often viewed as rigid, authoritarian figures. Yannick Nézet-Séguin completely subverts this stereotype.
Historically, conductors were often viewed as rigid, authoritarian figures. Yannick Nézet-Séguin completely subverts this stereotype.
The Talk of the Town
Patrizia Ciofi should have made it to the Met
Patrizia Ciofi should have made it to the Met
The artist who I feel should have made it to the Met is Patrizia Ciofi.
The artist who I feel should have made it to the Met is Patrizia Ciofi.
The Talk of the Town
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never made it to the Met
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never made it to the Met
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never sang at the Met.
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never sang at the Met.
Whether near or far, cher public, you can enjoy the Met premiere of L’Amour de Loin in the company of other denizens of La Casa della Cieca.
Joyce DiDonato’s atest album, In War & Peace: Harmony through music, is more specific than it sounds.
La Cieca thought it would be nice to revisit an Unnatural Acts of Opera podcast which included selections from the diva’s 1958 US recital tour.
On this day in 1951 Benjamin Britten‘s Billy Budd premiered in London.
Happy 73rd birthday soprano Luana DeVol.
Anna has gone auburn!
So interesting an operatic topic as Barbara Cartland and her brain pills goes unset.
On this day in 1948 Verdi’s Otello was the first opera to be telecast from the Metropolitan Opera.
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