Recent Stories
Which soprano, whose lovely voice and charming stage presence should make her worth her weight in gold, is not being asked back to an opera company where she’s had great success?
In a slight detour from the usual all-opera-all-the-time format of parterre box, the queer opera zine, issue #44 centers on Ben Letzler‘s superb appreciation of film and cabaret diva Zarah Leander.
Midway through the first portion of this past Wednesday’s New York City recital debut of Mme. Natalie Dessay I became very distracted by the persistent urge to try to characterize the experience of what was happening on stage, for this was, by no means, an ordinary recital and no ordinary debutante.
First up (naturally), Das Rheingold.
“Suite à la mort de Gerard qui n’avait pas pu assister à la première, conserver cette fin m’est devenu impossible.”
“The finale of Sweeney Todd left the stage of Avery Fisher Hall littered with corpses, but the evening, for all its flaws, felt vibrantly alive.”
According to the Facebook page of tenor Yusif Eyvazov (Des Grieux to Anna Netrebko‘s Manon in the Rome Opera Manon Lescaut), the two are “engaged.”
Miss Garden retired a year ago, going to the bandit-infested hills of Corsica to “write a book and ride a mule.”
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
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
One man’s Junker
One man’s Junker
Handel’s Deidamia — and one of its current champions, soprano Sophie Junker — are the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Handel’s Deidamia — and one of its current champions, soprano Sophie Junker — are the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
The finer performances of Tristan und Isolde have a way of sounding like a four-hour improvisation, the fruit of a single moment of inspiration that makes one forget how emotionally manipulative and painstakingly crafted the music really is.
Our Own Poison Ivy interviews conductor Alain Altinoglu over at her own blog, Poison Ivy’s Wall of Text.
“Including staff benefits, Gelb says a full-time chorus member at the Met earns an astonishing $300,000 (£180,000) a year, while the players of the Met Orchestra earn more than any orchestra in the US.”
Just in from the Met: “Daniel Sutin will sing the title role in tonight’s performance of Berg’s Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who is recovering from bronchitis.”
La Cieca is delighted to salute the return of Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin to the regular Monday lineup at parterre.com. And what a special treat she has for us this week: a live performance of Werther starring Franco Corelli and Christa Ludwig!
This afternoon at the Met, Grigolo sold his performance like the rent was due tomorrow and he was down to his last penny.
Impresario Gerard Mortier died earlier today of pancreatic cancer. He was 70.
There’s always companionship of a sort here, cher public, whether it’s off-topic or general interest subjects you feel like discussing.
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.
Recently, opera showed up at both Mets, the Metropolitan Opera and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager… has engaged Mr. Domingo to sing Don Carlo in Ernani next season, Simon Boccanegra the following season and Nabucco in 2016-17.”
It’s been a bitterly cold winter in NY. When it’s bitterly cold, the air is dry.
We must be doubly grateful that The English Concert’s recent Theodora was so quickly followed by the American Classical Orchestra’s fine Samson on Tuesday evening at Alice Tully Hall.
parterre box has obtained a memo sent to artists’ managers in which AGMA Executive Director Alan Gordon warns singers contracted to sing at the Met in the 2014-2105 season that due to unpromising developments in upcoming labor negotiations the company may be dark for part or all of the season.
“Matthias Goerne is stepping into the title role in tonight’s opening night performance of Berg’s Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who has withdrawn due to illness.”
From Mike Richter‘s CD-ROM “El Anillo,” here is radiant soprano Gré Brouwenstijn in the first act of Die Walküre as performed at the Teatro Colon in 1962.
The highlight of the Bayerische Staatsoper’s 2014-2015 season is a new production of Manon Lescaut featuring Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann, directed by Claus Guth.
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