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On this day in 1959 the musical Once Upon a Mattress opened off-Broadway.
Washington National Opera followed up Monday’s lavishly praised Die Walküre with a Siegfried that, if not quite rising to the summit of the previous installment, delivered a musically committed and eminently watchable version of this complicated work.
Perhaps the most admirable project of Dominique Meyer’s Intendanz at Wiener Staatsoper is the traversal of the operas of Leos Janancek,.
On this day in 1994 Stephen Sondheim‘s Passion opened on Broadway.
On this day in 1952 Mad Magazine was first published.
Well, when the New York Times goes into a tizzy, you know times are hard, cher public, but your doyenne is ready to ride to the rescue, hakeo don’t panic.
A biopic entitled Florence Foster Jenkins, marvelously directed by Stephen Frears of Philomena and The Queen fame, stars the actress that never ceases to amaze us all, Meryl Streep, as Mme. Jenkins.
On this day in 1964 Joe Orton‘s Entertaining Mr Sloane premiered in London.
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.
“Trove Thursday” presents two star countertenors in a beguiling all-Purcell program from 2010.
On this day in 1955 the musical Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre, to run 1,019 performances.
WNO’s first complete Ring Cycle continued Monday evening with a revamped version of the Die Walküre first seen at the Kennedy Center in 2007.
“Hopper’s Wife turned out to be the most unpleasant piece as I’ve heard since NYCO’s notorious fiasco The Dreyfus Affair, two decades ago.”
Happy 86th birthday soprano Roberta Peters.
Happily, this Rheingold, which returned to the Kennedy Center Saturday night to open the first of three complete cycles, has been shorn of its clumsier gestures.
“Due to Anna Netrebko’s recent decision not to add the title role in Bellini’s Norma to her repertory…”
Which opera director’s new position seems to have gone to his head? At a recent round of auditions, he reportedly encouraged the singers to disrobe.
Talk of the Town
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.
The Talk of the Town
Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo should have made it to the Met
Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo should have made it to the Met
This Mireille duet unites Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo and shows the timbral and stylistic qualities that made them exemplary.
This Mireille duet unites Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo and shows the timbral and stylistic qualities that made them exemplary.
On this day in 1960 Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt‘s The Fantasticks premiered at Greenwich Village’s Sullivan Street Playhouse.
Welcome, cher public, to the real-time chat for this evening’s Met broadcast of Otello, starting at 7:30 PM.
The seventeenth-century works of Francisco Cavalli may be easier for modern audiences to accept.
La Cieca celebrates parterre box’s advertisers for the month of May 2016: Carnegie Hall, the George London Foundation and Opera Orchestra of New York.
Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites essentially had three world premieres in 1957: first at La Scala (sung in Italian), then Paris (sung in French), followed by San Francisco (sung in English).
Christine Goerke will sing the role of Brünnhilde in the Monday, May 2 performance of The Valkyrie at WNO.
On this day in 1968 the revue New Faces of 1968 opened at the Booth Theatre to run 52 performances.
“The Met: Live in HD concluded its tenth anniversary season Saturday with a live transmission of Patrice Chéreau’s acclaimed production of Elektra, with an estimated attendance of 48,000 in North America earning a gross of $1,037,000.”
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