Recent Stories
Huw Montague Rendall’s new release Contemplation has been spinning in both my car and home players repeatedly for months now.
… as Minnie in La fanciulla del west
This performance of Mahler’s Symphony N°8 at the Bozar in Brussels will probably be my last ever Mahler concert.
Christina Nilsson‘s debut enlivens the Met’s new Aïda.
Karen Slack is downright magisterial in her recital African Queens.
Corinne Winters sings the title role in Janácek‘s opera live from Munich.
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
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Don’t cry because it’s over
Don’t cry because it’s over
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
A stylish and funny Così fan tutte at LA Opera is a pretty glam affair, according to Patrick Mack.
She demonstrated impressive artistry in repertoire that ranged from Spanish music to Mozart and Verdi. I only saw her twice at the Met in Mozart but they were both memorable performances.
The conclusion of the Metropolitan Opera’s annual competition, live from New York
parterre‘s protean publisher and historical singing authority Nick Scholl sits down with the Bel Canto Boot Camp team to discuss the old school and what makes for good filth
A drama/trauma-tic soprano in the model of Gencer and Olivero, Martile Rowland sang a brilliant Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux (a last minute replacement for Zampieri, another controversial pick) at a concert, did half a Puritani at the Met, and sang the other “Gencer” roles such as Paolina in I Martiri, the title roles in Caterina Cornaro and Linda di Chamounix, and then retired to teach in the midwest somewhere(?).
But two weeks remain for readers to stoke the fires of daily discussion over at The Talk of the Town!
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
Anna Caterina Antonacci should have made it to the Met
Anna Caterina Antonacci should have made it to the Met
The one who got away was Anna Caterina Antonacci, a thrilling performer.
The one who got away was Anna Caterina Antonacci, a thrilling performer.
The Talk of the Town
Lina Bruna Rasa should have made it to the Met
Lina Bruna Rasa should have made it to the Met
In the case of Lina Bruna Rasa, the reasons why she never sang at the Met are painfully clear.
In the case of Lina Bruna Rasa, the reasons why she never sang at the Met are painfully clear.
The Talk of the Town
Conchita Supervia should have made it to the Met
Conchita Supervia should have made it to the Met
For vibrato fanciers, of course, discovering Supervia is like hitting the mother lode.
For vibrato fanciers, of course, discovering Supervia is like hitting the mother lode.
The Talk of the Town
Gertrud Grob-Prandl should have made it to the Met
Gertrud Grob-Prandl should have made it to the Met
Yes, the Met had Birgit Nilsson – so they let the volcano that was Gertrude Grob-Prandl‘s voice slip through their fingers.
Yes, the Met had Birgit Nilsson – so they let the volcano that was Gertrude Grob-Prandl‘s voice slip through their fingers.
The Talk of the Town
Eglise Gutierrez should have made it to the Met
Eglise Gutierrez should have made it to the Met
So much color in this beautifully agile voice.
So much color in this beautifully agile voice.
The Talk of the Town
Mado Robin should have made it to the Met
Mado Robin should have made it to the Met
I like to use this recording to annoy Mariah Carey fans by proving that whistle register doesn’t count.
I like to use this recording to annoy Mariah Carey fans by proving that whistle register doesn’t count.
Joyce Guyer’s silvery soprano, impeccable musicianship and beguiling stage presence made her an invaluable member of the Met roster in the late 1990s and early 2000s, appearing most frequently in harmony with others in such assignments as Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Woglinde in Wagner’s Ring Cycle and as a Parsifal Flower Maiden.
The new musical starring Idina Menzel, ostensibly a paean to back-to-naturism, could hardly feel more manufactured and synthetic.
Hoping to speed up the arrival of spring, parterre box coaxes you to Michael Spyres‘s blazing pira with an in-house sampling of his Manrico from last fall’s Il trovatore in Houston.
Although not exactly unknown, why she isn’t a big star is mysterious to me.
In Opera Parallèle’s The Pigeon Keeper, Michael Anthonio finds a timely message of kindness during hard times.
Prompted by Washington Concert Opera’s upcoming Luisa Miller, Chris Cache’s misbehaves five times by offering just the opera’s final act with sopranos from the 1970s, some of whom might be considered “under-appreciated”: Gabriella Tucci, Adriana Maliponte, Renata Scotto, Gilda Cruz-Romo, and Katia Ricciarelli.
I first encountered Karina Gauvin in 2003 in the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Conradi’s Ariadne. It does not happen often that I encounter an unknown singer with such a gorgeous sheen to their voice. Her performance was a knockout.
Washington Concert Opera delved into Mozart for the first time earlier this month with the composer’s once neglected penultimate stage work, La Clemenza di Tito, led by Maestro Antony Walker.
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