The sorrowful précis
Born on this day in 1921 actress Alexis Smith.
Recent Stories
“Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo”
On this day in 1909 Mary Pickford made her screen debut at the age of 16.
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).
Minerva of the North
On this day in in 1654 Queen Christina abdicated the throne of Sweden and converted to Catholicism.
Crown jewel
I’m a long-time fan of the Opera in English series funded by The Peter Moores Foundation that started, fittingly enough, with conductor Reginald Goodall’s performances of Wagner’s Ring cycle recorded live from the London Coliseum and released by EMI
Cannon fodder
On this day in 1954 Your Show Of Shows last aired on NBC-TV.
Up
On this day in 1783 the Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrated their montgolfière, or hot air balloon.
Margaret Juntwait 1957-2015
The host of the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday Afternoon Radio Broadcasts and longtime public radio personality died today of complications from ovarian cancer. She was 58.
Good will hunting
The New York City Opera saga apparently wasn’t quite dramatic enough, so now there’s a new plot twist thrown into the mix.
Holy war
On this day in 1098, after a five-month siege, Crusaders seized Antioch.
Dead nacred
La Cieca (not pictured) surrenders, cher public: she can no longer bear the burden of opposing ignorant, hysterical pearl-clutching on the internet. The clutchers have won.
Plane and simple
On this day in 1981 Barbara Walters asked Katharine Hepburn what kind of tree she would be.
Fungus home
I can’t think of another 20th century opera which has grown so fast in popularity so long after its composition than Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
Dearly beloved
Mezzo Rinat Shaham takes a short break from being the world’s busiest Carmen and rehearsing for the theatrical concert “The Sorrows of Young Werther” to dish with your doyenne.
The cheese stands alone
On this day in 1951 the International Cheese treaty was signed.
I have seen the future and it is posh
The visionary Rupert Christiansen peers into the mists of the not-yet and apprehends the perfection of the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk.
Schopenhauer was right
On this day in 1893 Whitcomb Judson patented a hookless fastening device later called a “zipper.”
MIra, o Norma
Born in this day in 1899 American screenwriter and producer Irving Thalberg.
In like Flynn
On this day in 1453 Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, fell to Muhammad II, ending the Byzantine Empire.
Haunted mountain
Beginning with the dark, ominous music of the prelude of Charles Wuorinen and Annie Proulx’s opera Brokeback Mountain, we know we are in for a very different and far less sentimental version of the work than was had with Ang Lee’s iconic 2005 film.
Other places only make me love you best
On this day in 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, was officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Hell is other turbans
On this day in 1944, Jean-Paul Sartre‘s Huis Clos opened (heh) in Paris.
“Now where did I put that tiara?”
Setting, or surely approaching, some sort of record for sheer breadth of career (70 years!), Lucine Amara returns to the New York stage this summer as the Duchess of Krakenthorp in La Fille du Régiment.