A lion in winter
Sherrill Milnes sits down with Brendan Latimer to talk about his life, career, and what he hopes to pass along to the next generation
Recent Stories
A favorite Wagner performance from Peter
Eleanor Steber and Wolfgang Windgassen in the Act III bridal chamber scene of Lohengrin.
By Peter
61 comments
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).
Lohengrin
A performance recorded earlier today at the Bayreuth Festival
Robert Wilson 1941-2025
The groundbreaking director and designer of works like Einstein on the Beach died earlier today at his home in Water Mill, New York
Golden shower
Claus Guth mines urgent and contemporary commentary from Die Liebe der Danae in Munich.
He plays the violin
This Bard production, led by Leon Botstein, makes the strongest possible case musically, dramatically and visually for Smetana’s opera Dalibor.
Let me change your mind about Mady Mesplé
Mady Mesplé’s voice has, sadly, become an acquired taste.
By Roger Pines
48 comments
Götterdämmerung
The final installment of the 2025 Ring from Bayreuth
Robber barons
A revival of the furious I masnadieri at the Bayerische Staatsoper falls short of perfection – and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Gilda! mia Gilda!…È morta!
Mexican soprano Gilda Cruz-Romo died on 28 June at the age of 85 and Chris’s Cache remembers her with live recordings of a frequent role and a rather rare one: a last-minute Met Tosca plus perhaps her only stab at the Cherubini Medea.
Parsifal
A performance recorded earlier today at the Bayreuth Festival
Change my mind about Anja Silja
I never got to hear Silja in person, and I suspect I should have for me to even begin to appreciate her.
By Apulia
70 comments
Old wife’s tale
Pénélope at the Bayerische Staatsoper’s summer festival spotlights the crossroads between the nostalgic and the progressive.
Sing of happy, not sad
Matthias Davids‘s reactionary new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg might be fun, but no one comes to Bayreuth for fun.
Change my mind about Jerome Hines
This clip is a strong case for leaving non-operatic music alone.
By Niel Rishoi
73 comments
Siegfried
The third installment of the 2025 Ring from Bayreuth
Cask in the glory
A North American debut of a respectable French Baroque ensemble, an ebullient presentation of La fille du régiment, and an afternoon soiree in Wine Country proved to be the hottest (yet affordable!) tickets around here this Summer.
La bohème
A performance recorded at The Santa Fe Opera earlier this summer
The Critic: Friend, Foe, or Finished?
Parterre Box critics Emma Hoffman and Max Keller and friend of the Box Emery Kerekes talk what’s next for classical music criticism with Ben Gambuzza of The Best is Noise
Thane and suffering
In the 1847 version of Macbeth, the forces of Teatro Nuovo lacked the thunderous punch this music can pack, but provided a pleasant ride
Die Walküre
A slightly delayed broadcast of the second installment of this year’s Ring from Bayreuth
Change my mind about Regietheater
Carmen Paddock and Mr. Portafiori aren’t getting the hype behind Ivo van Hove, Krzysztof Warlikowski, and Calitxo Bieito
Giulio Cesare in Egitto
A live broadcast from the Salzburg Festival