Parterre Box

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.

With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.

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.

Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.

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.

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.

What I love most about Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s “Lilacs” is how beautifully it captures the quiet intimacy at the heart of art song.

Rosa Ponselle is the singer who had it all.

“Du bist die ruh” was one of the first art songs I ever knew.

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.

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. 

I listen to about as much art song as I do opera and could have filled every day of April with favorite selections.