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Instead of giving laurels to a performance already praised since a long time, my choice will be Don Giovanni, Metropolitan Opera, May 2023.
Eat the Document, which premiered at the Prototype Festival last week, compresses a decades-long, nonlinear story into a swift 90 minutes while still finding time to pause for reflection.
Musically speaking, Così fan tutte is my favorite opera by Mozart, but not necessarily in terms of its dramaturgy
Eleanor Steber shows us how it’s done.
Edita Gruberova as Donn’Anna — “Crudele? Ah no, mio bene … Non mi dir”
David Fox and Cameron Kelsall take on a new revival of Gypsy: Is there any gayer or more impassioned theater topic?
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings Mozart’s great K 523, ‘Abendempfindung an Laura’ live at Ravinia with Peter Serkin, August 2004
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Nailin’ the coughin’
Nailin’ the coughin’
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Landing the plane
Landing the plane
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Le galant tireur
Le galant tireur
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
My 600 performance life
My 600 performance life
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Life imitates art
Life imitates art
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Drink me
Drink me
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Parterre Box answers the question, “how can a singer do both Tristan and Nemorino within a few month of each other?” with a clip of a recent role debut from Michael Spyres.
Apologies in advance to Key’mon Murrah, whose rather extraordinary Marian Anderson award recital with pianist Brian Zeger at the Kennedy Center on December 17 demands some general musing.
The celebrated Austrian director, known for his picturesque and conservative stagings, was 94.
For many opera lovers of the Baby Boomer generation, German bass Kurt Moll (1938-2017) was Sarastro, exuding wisdom and kindness through his unaffected bearing and incomparably rich, homogeneous sound.
Despite not being very happy with the state of the world (and the union) and not looking forward to the New Year, this past December I took in many festive holiday offerings including a pair of oratorios.
Così is an almost post-modern opera, in that it mocks the bourgeois construction of ‘love’ as a socially-sanctioned precursor to matrimony.
A new play by Peter Danish opening at New York’s New World Stages in March will reimagine a meeting between Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan
A perfect meeting of voice with composer occurred when Arleen Auger took part in the rediscovery of early works by Mozart.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Erika Baikoff
A favorite art song performance from Erika Baikoff
What I love most about Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s “Lilacs” is how beautifully it captures the quiet intimacy at the heart of art song.
What I love most about Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s “Lilacs” is how beautifully it captures the quiet intimacy at the heart of art song.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Last Castrato
A favorite art song performance from Last Castrato
Rosa Ponselle is the singer who had it all.
Rosa Ponselle is the singer who had it all.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Armerjacquino
A favorite art song performance from Armerjacquino
“Du bist die ruh” was one of the first art songs I ever knew.
“Du bist die ruh” was one of the first art songs I ever knew.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Emma Hoffman
A favorite art song performance from Emma Hoffman
Respighi‘s liriche can be as colorful, poetic, and downright lovely as any selection from other art song traditions. Case in point: Rosa Feola‘s recording of the first song from Quattro rispetti toscani.
Respighi‘s liriche can be as colorful, poetic, and downright lovely as any selection from other art song traditions. Case in point: Rosa Feola‘s recording of the first song from Quattro rispetti toscani.
The Talk of the Town
Two favorite art song performances from Julia Bullock
Two favorite art song performances from Julia Bullock
This task feels near impossible, as I listen to a LOT of art song singers on repeat, across decades and continents (from piano to orchestral works) — mostly for pleasure, but also for study.
This task feels near impossible, as I listen to a LOT of art song singers on repeat, across decades and continents (from piano to orchestral works) — mostly for pleasure, but also for study.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from CKurwenal
A favorite art song performance from CKurwenal
I listen to about as much art song as I do opera and could have filled every day of April with favorite selections.
I listen to about as much art song as I do opera and could have filled every day of April with favorite selections.
On 23 July 1986, almost certainly more people simultaneously experienced a Mozart aria than ever had before or since when Arleen Auger sang at Andrew and Fergie‘s wedding.
No one in recording history short of Hermann Jadlowker could do these florid Mozart tenor roles like Michael Spyres
It’s daring, it’s risky, it’s ever so much fun.
A performance recorded last fall in New York
A performance recorded in Munich two weeks ago with Pretty Yende and Xabier Anduaga
“D’Oreste d’Ajace” – Carol Vaness
“Tenor SeokJong Baek will sing the role of Radamès in the January 4 and 7 performances of Verdi’s Aida, replacing Piotr Beczala, who has withdrawn due to illness.”
Ponnelle directing and Böhm conducting Le Nozze di Figaro with Prey, Freni, Fischer-Dieskau, Te Kanawa, and Ewing leading the cast. A classier performance of the piece can hardly be imagined.