Recent Stories
I decided I’d take ‘never made it to the Met’ as an excuse to submit a post about why French soprano Denise Duval (1921-2015) is special to me.
Madison Schindele surveys the endlessly diverse offerings of Berlin’s 2026-27 opera season.
A.J. Goldmann on the Salzburg Festival’s revolving doors, both in its administration and in its delectable production of Il viaggio a Reims.
The immortal Renata Tebaldi, just about 29 years old as Saint Joan in a RAI broadcast of Giovanna d’Arco from 1951.
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
Lady in waiting
Lady in waiting
One Italian soprano continues to save the day in bel canto roles at La Scala; this week Parterre Box features Marta Torbidoni.
One Italian soprano continues to save the day in bel canto roles at La Scala; this week Parterre Box features Marta Torbidoni.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Box Braid
Box Braid
Ambur Braid‘s biggest dramatic soprano assignment yet — the Dyer’s Wife in Aix — is occasion for Parterre Box to feature her in some of her old repertoire.
Ambur Braid‘s biggest dramatic soprano assignment yet — the Dyer’s Wife in Aix — is occasion for Parterre Box to feature her in some of her old repertoire.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Goodnight, Irene
Goodnight, Irene
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
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.
Bass-baritone Le Bu’s recital with Vocal Arts DC highlighted his linguistic and timbral versatility.
It has become that time of evening… to opine during the latest round of The Talk of the Town.
I was a huge fan of Anna Netrebko.
A new production of Die schweigsame Frau at the Berlin Staatsoper has precious little to say.
Christopher Corwin picks the flowers of a baroque May in New York City with reviews of concerts starring Lauren Snouffer, Key’mon Murrah, and the Oratorio Society of New York.
The mesmerizing run of Trovatore in October 2015 at the Met, a few months after we learned that Hvorostovsky was dying
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
Antonio Pappano is a great opera conductor
Antonio Pappano is a great opera conductor
Antonio Pappano‘s versatility in both German and Italian repertoire and beyond is both rare and impressive.
Antonio Pappano‘s versatility in both German and Italian repertoire and beyond is both rare and impressive.
The Talk of the Town
Dimitri Mitropoulos was a great opera conductor
Dimitri Mitropoulos was a great opera conductor
Whether an opera by Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, or Berg, Dimitri Mitropoulos brought to the podium a total understanding and love for each score he touched.
Whether an opera by Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, or Berg, Dimitri Mitropoulos brought to the podium a total understanding and love for each score he touched.
The Talk of the Town
Rudolf Kempe was a great opera conductor
Rudolf Kempe was a great opera conductor
I am once again going to laud the classic Rudolf Kempe commercial recording of Lohengrin (which I have lauded overall) for its conducting.
I am once again going to laud the classic Rudolf Kempe commercial recording of Lohengrin (which I have lauded overall) for its conducting.
The Talk of the Town
Roger Norrington was a great opera conductor
Roger Norrington was a great opera conductor
Roger Norrington conducted Rossini’s Semiramide in Pesaro ’94 and made the Orchestra part of the drama in a way I still have never heard duplicated in a Bel Canto opera.
Roger Norrington conducted Rossini’s Semiramide in Pesaro ’94 and made the Orchestra part of the drama in a way I still have never heard duplicated in a Bel Canto opera.
The Talk of the Town
Fabio Luisi is a great opera conductor
Fabio Luisi is a great opera conductor
Many years ago, when the Met was deciding who the next principal conductor/music director was going to be, it seemed to be a tie between YN-S and Fabio Luisi.
Many years ago, when the Met was deciding who the next principal conductor/music director was going to be, it seemed to be a tie between YN-S and Fabio Luisi.
The Talk of the Town
Pierre Monteux was a great opera conductor
Pierre Monteux was a great opera conductor
Pierre Monteux‘s career defies time.
Pierre Monteux‘s career defies time.
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Here in Chicago, I’ve had many a shot at listening to Riccardo Muti as a Verdi conductor.
Don’t expect any sweeping statements from Franz Welser-Möst ‘s polished, if dramatically inert, Fidelio.
Die Walküre heralds the end of an era for the Los Angeles Philharmonic — and the arrival of a new generation of Wagnerians.
I’ve never been shy about my adoration of Anna Moffo.
Iain Bell and Lydia Steier‘s Medusa stuns in Brussels.
My favorite Verdi performance is the iconic 1960 RCA recording of Otello with Jon Vickers in the title role and the Rome Opera Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of the masterly Tullio Serafin.
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