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On this day in 1966, the Metropolitan Opera House opened at Lincoln Center in New York City with the world premiere of Samuel Barber‘s opera Antony and Cleopatra.
La Cieca has just heard that Joseph Kaiser, due to unforeseen circumstances, will not be able to participate in Sunday’s Voce recital.
Perhaps to whet the appetite for the Met’s opening night just one week from now, Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin presents a gala performance of Le nozze di Figaro (with a cast headed by Teresa Stratas) from the Paris Opera.
One of the things that made François Girard’s 2013 production of Parsifal at the Met so compelling was the way he tried to make the tale of suffering and temptation relevant to a contemporary audience.
Walking away from Theatre Châtelet this afternoon, I felt as though my relationship with France and its notoriously perplexing people and culture had at long last reached some degree of depth.
On this day in 1923 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.
On this day in 1968, the television newsmagazine program 60 Minutes premiered on CBS-TV.
Big changes in San Francisco’s Norma.
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.
On this day in 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the poem “Defence of Fort McHenry,” which was later set to music and became the United States’ national anthem.
Which highly respected opera professional has been making a lot of childish scenes lately (even devising a fake identity on parterre.com!) in order to sow discord between two ex-clients?
The Metropolitan Opera just announced that 22 positions from its administrative staff of 254 have been eliminated as part of a company-wide program of cost cutting.
Valerian Ruminksi, that bass-baritone who shot off his mouth all over Facebook about a drag queen’s manicure and got fired from a prestigious gig with Opera Lyra—remember him?
On this day in 1846, Elizabeth Barrett eloped with Robert Browning.
Now that you know how to obtain same-day tickets to the Met, cher public, all that remains is deciding which operas you intend to see.
On this day in 1609, Henry Hudson discovered Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there.
“[Renée Fleming] also proved herself skilled at musical comedy at times…. As for those aforementioned comic moments, she revealed her own fondness for Joseph Canteloube’s Folk Songs from the Auvergne.”
Talk of the Town
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.
The Talk of the Town
Ebe Stignani and Anita Cerquetti should have made it to the Met
Ebe Stignani and Anita Cerquetti should have made it to the Met
Subtlety is for cowards, say the blazing Anita Cerquetti and the blaring Ebe Stignani.
Subtlety is for cowards, say the blazing Anita Cerquetti and the blaring Ebe Stignani.
The Talk of the Town
Sena Jurinac should have made it to the Met
Sena Jurinac should have made it to the Met
Sena Jurinac, a celebrated Mozart and Strauss singer here as the Composer, a signature role.
Sena Jurinac, a celebrated Mozart and Strauss singer here as the Composer, a signature role.
The Talk of the Town
Janet Baker should have made it to the Met
Janet Baker should have made it to the Met
The divine Dame Janet Baker never sang at the Metropolitan, sadly for American audiences.
The divine Dame Janet Baker never sang at the Metropolitan, sadly for American audiences.
On this day in 1846, Elias Howe was granted a patent for the sewing machine.
I fall on my knees before this new live recording
issued by the San Francisco Symphony.
Born on this dayin 1905: film producer Joseph E. Levine (not pictured).
The legendary Italian soprano Magda Olivero has died.
Norman Lebrecht announces that Deborah Voigt , “one of the leading Brünnhildes of our time,” will join Rufus Wainwright to sing arias from Prima Donna (5) and will then join him in a duet of “If I Loved You” from Carousel and… oh, I just can’t.
The appeal of Ariadne auf Naxos (for me anyway) is the acknowledgment that underneath it all, opera (and all other forms of “high art”) is really show business.
Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin delves into the very recent past indeed to present Donizetti’s La Favorite in a concert performance starring Elina Garanca and Juan Diego Flórez.
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