As dear Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (not pictured) said on at least one occasion, “Und ich habe, mein Lieber, wieder bei diesem kleinen Geschäft gefunden, dass Missverständnisse und Trägheit vielleicht mehr Irrungen in der Welt machen als List und Bosheit. Wenigstens sind die beiden letzteren gewiss seltener.”
As if Juan Diego Florez in a Seinfeldian puffy shirt were not festive enough, Vesselina Kasarova and Michele Pertusi also star in L’italiana in Algeri.
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).
On this day in 1917 American puppeteer Burr Tillstrom was born.
You will be happy to hear that Michael Fabiano was the unrivaled star of the Richard Tucker Foundation Gala tonight.
Which stage director—who, incidentally, has a smash hit on Broadway at the moment—has been blackballed from at least two return engagements at the Met because of a kerfuffle with a conductor?
Maestro Christian Thielemann has made his choice for Lohengrin casting in Dresden and, later, Bayreuth: “Anna Netrebko als Elsa und Piotr Beczala in der Titelpartie.”
Though our gypsy friend Carmen may not puff cigarettes in Australia, nothing will prevent the cher public from blowing smoke about off-topic and general interest subjects.
On this day in 490 BC, the Athenians and their Plataean allies defeated the first Persian invasion force of Greece at the Battle of Marathon.
On this day in 1957, Welsh actress and screenwriter Dawn French was born.
America hasn’t exactly been vigorous about commemorating the 250th anniversary of the death of Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Protean Meryl Streep is in talks to film a biopic about a legendary diva. No, not that one: Florence Foster Jenkins.
On this day in 1919, Die Frau ohne Schatten premiered in Vienna.
Passion propels more operas than almost any other human emotion; however, many musical dramas have a very different sort of passion—the final days of Jesus—as their subject.
On this day in 1890, evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson was born.
“Heppner will play the three roles in Titanic, including Isidor Straus, a prominent U.S. politician and businessman who goes down with the ship.”
Tenor Michael Fabiano reportedly tore the place down tonight at WQXR’s Greene Space.
On this day in 1979, the revue Sugar Babies opened at Mark Hellinger Theater, to run 1208 performances.
The rediscovery of Franco Faccio’s Amleto, a curious score that last week, via Baltimore Concert Opera, received its first performances since 1871, reminds us just how tough an act Giuseppe Verdi was to follow.
On this day in 1955, American poet Allen Ginsberg performed his poem “Howl” for the first time at the Six Gallery in San Francisco.
When Richard Wagner reached into the past and revised Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide, he went beyond the accepted boundaries of tinkering and more or less created a new work that’s fomented aesthetic debates ever since.
Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin has outdone herself this week, presenting a nostalgic pairing of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci.
On this day in 1889, the Moulin Rouge opened in Paris.
“Ms. Netrebko, 43, spoke about her willingness to take risks…”
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