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On this day in 1933 Arabella premiered in Dresden.
On this day in 1862 Gustave Flaubert completed Salammbô.
“Why did they concur? I was shocked to see children in the audience.”
In an unprecedented move, the Bayreuth Festival has named conductor Christian Thielemann official “Music Director.”
Harry Lawrence Freeman’s Voodoo, begun sometime before 1914, was completed and first heard on radio in May, 1928, then staged on Broadway later that year—seven years before Porgy and Bess, please note.
This week I am sending you something a bit more bucolic than usual: a traversal of the Golden Age of the Canadian Parlor Song by Canadian diva Mary Lou Fallis.
On this day in 1613 Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre burned down.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
When they go low
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Nailin’ the coughin’
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Landing the plane
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Le galant tireur
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
My 600 performance life
My 600 performance life
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Life imitates art
Life imitates art
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
A first hint of what Anna Netrebko‘s latest Verdi role will sound like.
“La couleur dramatique l’emporte irrésistiblement.”
On this day in 1841 the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris premiered the ballet Giselle.
Well done all of you for guessing almost all the correct identities of the mysterious Ortruden.
On this day in 1966 Dark Shadows premiered on ABC-TV.
On this day the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.
On this day in 1906, architect Stanford White was shot dead atop Madison Square Garden by Harry Thaw, jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit, White’s former mistress.
On this day in 1374 a sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance causeed people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapsed from exhaustion.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Niel Rishoi
A favorite art song performance from Niel Rishoi
Hans Hotter masterfully captures the poignancy of this sublime Brahms Lied.
Hans Hotter masterfully captures the poignancy of this sublime Brahms Lied.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Arrigo
A favorite art song performance from Arrigo
While refined, Lisa della Casa sings “Four Last Songs” deeply alert to the text and with effortless vocalization that sounds fresh and spontaneous.
While refined, Lisa della Casa sings “Four Last Songs” deeply alert to the text and with effortless vocalization that sounds fresh and spontaneous.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Belfagor
A favorite art song performance from Belfagor
Funnily enough, I’m not remotely a Rachmaninov fan, but this performance by Galina Vishnevskaya in her considerable prime always gives me the chills.
Funnily enough, I’m not remotely a Rachmaninov fan, but this performance by Galina Vishnevskaya in her considerable prime always gives me the chills.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Rowna Sutin
A favorite art song performance from Rowna Sutin
With youthful abandon, Ms. Feola interprets an old chestnut.
With youthful abandon, Ms. Feola interprets an old chestnut.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Andrew Lokay
A favorite art song performance from Andrew Lokay
Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s rendition of Jake Heggie‘s “Winged Victory: We’re Through,” vividly captures the song’s humor and energy.
Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s rendition of Jake Heggie‘s “Winged Victory: We’re Through,” vividly captures the song’s humor and energy.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Jamie Barton
A favorite art song performance from Jamie Barton
This prompt of “favorite art song performance” seems just about as broad — and almost silly — a question as asking a painter what their favorite color is.
This prompt of “favorite art song performance” seems just about as broad — and almost silly — a question as asking a painter what their favorite color is.
On this day in 1868 Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the “Type-Writer.”
Three blocks from the opera house is a terrible time to realize there was homework.
When John Adams’ A Flowering Tree had its world premiere in Vienna in 2006, critical reaction from the Austrian and German press was mixed-to-negative.
n this day in 1985 Dallas actress Victoria Principal (“35”) wedded plastic surgeon Harry Glassman (43).
On this day in 1791, the fleeing French King Louis XVI and his family were captured at Varennes-en-Argonne.
On this day in 1893 Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.
On this day in 1825 Gioacchino Rossini‘s Il viaggio a Reims premiered.
On this day in 1821 Der_Freischütz premiered at the Schauspielhaus Berlin.
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