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A currently active dramatic coloratura who has the voice and technique for Odabella! how often do we see that?
I first saw her perform with Portland Opera in Lucia. I subsequently saw her in Traviata, also in Portland. Later, I saw her as both Gilda and Juliette as the Met.
Not sure if she’s under-appreciated per se, but hers is my favorite Manon Lescaut with Jussi Björling.
A performance recorded earlier this year at the Teatro Regio di Parma.
parterre box is titillated (in the most prudishly puritanical way possible) to share a clip from the Paris Opera’s recent production of I Puritani starring Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee
The assumption is that singers, singing in their own language, will be more expressive and idiomatic. The reality is that it often seldom makes a difference.
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
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Drink me
Drink me
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
As of late, the Bay Area has been blessed with a few high-wattage, high-profile recitals as if to compensate for the chilly temperatures and gloomy weather. Roughly a month after Lise Davidsen made an ebullient debut at Cal Performances, the Bay Area welcomed French soprano Natalie Dessay last Saturday.
Diana Soviero, America’s standard-setter in Puccini and verismo — an artist whose vocalism was luminous, and whose inner conviction achieved the ultimate in shattering, profoundly moving emotional intensity.
As several readers put forth Patrizia Ciofi as a favorite under-appreciated soprano; Chris’s Cache enthusiastically agrees by offering a Ciofi-copia that includes complete operas by Handel and Meyerbeer and extensive excerpts of a Bellini, plus a dazzling concert of rare late 18th century arias.
I first heard Patrizia Ciofi in a production of La traviata from Venice. It was a very modern production set in present day, but still she shown through her performance was just incredible.
One of the highlights, if not the highlight, of No-Met-February was an all-Ravel evening presented by the Juilliard Orchestra.
As I mentioned in my last article (on the subject of Calixto Bieito’s production of Das Rheingold at the Paris Opera), in what the French might call une histoire belge, La Monnaie’s Ring cycle started with Romeo Castellucci as its director, and is now ending with Pierre Audi.
East Germany’s Hochdramatische icon, Berlin’s local Nachtigall.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Erika Baikoff
A favorite art song performance from Erika Baikoff
What I love most about Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s “Lilacs” is how beautifully it captures the quiet intimacy at the heart of art song.
What I love most about Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s “Lilacs” is how beautifully it captures the quiet intimacy at the heart of art song.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Last Castrato
A favorite art song performance from Last Castrato
Rosa Ponselle is the singer who had it all.
Rosa Ponselle is the singer who had it all.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Armerjacquino
A favorite art song performance from Armerjacquino
“Du bist die ruh” was one of the first art songs I ever knew.
“Du bist die ruh” was one of the first art songs I ever knew.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Emma Hoffman
A favorite art song performance from Emma Hoffman
Respighi‘s liriche can be as colorful, poetic, and downright lovely as any selection from other art song traditions. Case in point: Rosa Feola‘s recording of the first song from Quattro rispetti toscani.
Respighi‘s liriche can be as colorful, poetic, and downright lovely as any selection from other art song traditions. Case in point: Rosa Feola‘s recording of the first song from Quattro rispetti toscani.
The Talk of the Town
Two favorite art song performances from Julia Bullock
Two favorite art song performances from Julia Bullock
This task feels near impossible, as I listen to a LOT of art song singers on repeat, across decades and continents (from piano to orchestral works) — mostly for pleasure, but also for study.
This task feels near impossible, as I listen to a LOT of art song singers on repeat, across decades and continents (from piano to orchestral works) — mostly for pleasure, but also for study.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from CKurwenal
A favorite art song performance from CKurwenal
I listen to about as much art song as I do opera and could have filled every day of April with favorite selections.
I listen to about as much art song as I do opera and could have filled every day of April with favorite selections.
Eli Jacobson inaugurates parterre box’s new “Perspectives on the Aria” feature with a deep dive into Leonore’s “Abscheulicher!” from Beethoven’s Fidelio which returns to the Metropolitan Opera tomorrow with the Met’s current dramatic soprano star Lise Davidsen as Leonore.
Unfortunately, Barbara Haveman does not perform very much anymore and she did not leave many recordings.
My parents- heroes that they were- used to drive me to Tower Records in Piccadilly Circus (RIP, to both the store and while we’re here, to my parents) after dinner on my birthday, to take advantage of the fact that it was open until midnight.
Many of us of a certain age had the good luck to see Benita Valente frequently at the Met. My memory is that she was treated rather like a house singer at first, and only later was appreciated for her extraordinary gifts.
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.