Pape music
There is something so very Don Draper about René Pape .
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Diese Toilette nur an
On this day in 1836, Thomas Crapper, English plumber, was born.
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).
The lady’s a star
I just arrived back from Stella di Napoli’s.
Gifted humans
Born on this day in 1898 composer Vincent Youmans.
Hysterical blondeness
Wednesday brought the Met’s “real” season opener, an indelible, indispensable night at the opera: a starry revival of Verdi’s Macbeth crowned by Anna Netrebko’s demented Lady.
When I have sung my songs
Soprano Renée Fleming is certainly making the role of the Countess in Richard Strauss’s final opera Capriccio the focus of her late-career years.
Constant as the northern star
On this day in 46 BC, Julius Caesar dedicated a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix in accordance with a vow he made at the battle of Pharsalus.
Non posso nemmeno
“Thank goodness the Met’s new production by Richard Eyre lacks a bold new concept.”
Bohemian girl
The Met press office announces: “Hei-Kyung Hong will sing the role of Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème on September 26 and 29, replacing Ekaterina Scherbachenko, who is ill.”
Prima donna
On this day in 1979, the musical Evita opened at the Broadway Theater in New York City.
Wedding bell blues
“So it’s twice as disappointing that Monday night’s performance of the Mozart masterpiece turned into a four-hour fizzle.”
Empire waste
On this day in 1180, Manuel I Komnenos, last Emperor of the Komnenian restoration, died, and the Byzantine Empire slipped into terminal decline.
Chorus of the exiled protesters
“I applaud the Klinghoffer protesters for voicing their opinions, but that doesn’t stop me from saying that I find those opinions ill-informed, inept and downright dangerous.”
Love me, love my dog
On this day in 1962, Philharmonic Hall (since renamed Avery Fisher Hall) opened as the first unit of Lincoln Center for Performing Arts.
Tiara in the aisles
Our Own JJ (pictured) is off to cover the Met’s opening night.
Femmes fatales
You’ve cast your votes for the operas you most look forward to hearing at the Met this fall, and if the opera has “Macbeth” in the title, you’re there.
Felice troppo
Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin celebrates tonight’s opening of the season at the Met with an opening night from the past: a 1967 performance of La traviata.
Golden anniverary
On this day in 1869, Richard Wagner‘s opera Das Rheingold premiered in Munich.
About last night
For those who like their Handel loud, with no forfeit of baroque finesse, one promising solution is to make the hall smaller.
Running, jumping, or burning Gaul
Far be it from me to join the Schadenfreudian chorus of “Bye, Bye, Berti!” you may have been hearing in certain quarters, but the first thing I am duty-bound to report about San Francisco Opera’s Norma (of which three performances remain) is that they’ve hit the jackpot, coverwise.
That will bring us back to Do
As the New York season starts, cher public, here is your refuge where you may discuss off-topic and general interest subjects.
Not since the old Jill Gomez
Born on this day in 1912 Chuck Jones, American animator, screenwriter, and producer.
Three nights in Paris
“Oh to be young and going to Paris for the first time,” exclaimed an elderly gentleman who donned his best sweatervest for a concert at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival this past August.