The 500 Fingers of Dr. H
Surely you agree that piano concerti are inherently political.
Recent Stories
Broadcast
The Bartered Bride / Wiener Staatsoper
A live broadcast of Smetana's opera featuring Pavol Breslik and Slávka Zámečníková
Streamed October 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Broadcast
Semele / Royal Ballet and Opera
Ben Bliss and Pretty Yende lead a performance recorded last spring in London
Streamed October 4, 2025 at 1:00 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).
Moor is more
A pair of Otellos – in Madrid and Parma – is a study in contrasts.
Nothing makes me feel better than Tosca
Suck it, Joseph Kerman: Puccini’s “Shabby Little Shocker” has outlived you and will probably bury us all.
By Peter Russell
Comment
Broadcast
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay / Metropolitan Opera
A live broadcast from New York
Streamed October 2, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Comment
What belongs to us
Kevin Ng sits down with PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novelist and critic Garth Greenwell to talk about sex, queerness, and the “promise of opera.”
Nothing makes me feel better than Grisélidis
From an early age I knew I should have been French.
By Belfagor
Comment
Streamed September 30, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Comment
It all began tonight
West Side Story opened LA Opera’s 40th anniversary season with fury and flair
Folle ebbrezza!
Today’s Grand Tier Grab Bag features a snippet from Carolina López Moreno and Antonio Pappano‘s recent Rondine in London.
Broadcast
The Cunning Little Vixen / Gran Teatre del Liceu
Peter Mattei and Elena Tsallagova lead a live broadcast from Barcelola
Streamed September 29, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Comment
Storybored
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was, somehow, a fun night at the opera—just not one that felt specifically operatic.
Next season I’m excited for Bellini operas at the Met
We will have two Bellinis in new productions, with the best possible casts that can be assembled.
By Last Castrato
Comment
Broadcast
Tosca / Wiener Staatsoper
Elena Stikhina, Jonathan Tetelman, and Ludovic Tézier star in a live broadcast from Vienna
Streamed September 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Broadcast
Il trovatore / Royal Ballet and Opera
Rachel Willis-Sorensen and Michael Fabiano reunite for another stab at Verdi's opera in a performance recorded in London last spring
Streamed September 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Comment
Next season I’m excited for Handel oratorios
Messiah remains ubiquitous, but several of Handel’s other superb English oratorios will be given enticing performances during the 2025-26 season.
By Christopher Corwin
Comment
Broadcast
Otello / Teatro Regio di Parma
Fabio Sartori, Mariangela Sicilia, and Ariunbaatar Ganbataar lead a live performance from the Verdi Festival in Parma
Streamed September 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Comment
Polish and poise
Today’s Grand Tier Grab Bag offers Raehann Bryce-Davis in Marina’s aria from a broadcast of Boris conducted by Vasily Petrenko.
Next season I’m excited for Andrea Chénier
Next season I am looking forward to performances of Andrea Chénier at the Met.
By Moe Rear
Comment
Reunited and it feels so good
When Angela Meade and Michael Fabiano first sang Lucia together as students at AVA few would have predicted that they would go on to sing Turandot 16 years later.
Novel ideas
Carmen Paddock looks at contemporary opera’s prestige literary turn and what it takes for operas adopted from novels to last.