Parterre Box

Samuel Barber may have had an edge as melodist over Dominick Argento, but the latter had a far better instinct as dramatist, and his 1988 setting of Henry James’s The Aspern Papers is overdue for a Met premiere. It is a gripping work of musical psychodrama.

Jonny spielt auf by Ernst Krenek could be a lot of rollicking fun, especially if a director and design team leaned into creating a 1927 world that acknowledged modernist art movements, silent film acting aesthetics, and the use of historical film footage of nightlife and cityscapes of the time.

It will never happen, but a girl can dream.

Lucrezia Borgia — given only one night more than a century ago. Giustizia per Lucrezia!!!

Now that Lisette Oropesa is doing the McVicar co-production of Maria Stuarda in Madrid, can the Met revive it with her?

While I have an entire laundry list of operas (Maria Regina d’Inghilterra, Loreley, La Wally, Sadko, The Snow Maiden, The Golden Cockerel, La Fiamma, and many others) I wish the Met would do – especially after Medea was such a success – I think realistically speaking this double-bill would be lovely for Sondra Radvanovsky at this point.

William Kentridge‘s production of The Nose. I think it’s his strongest production for the Met, the piece is a masterpiece and this is a time for absurdity. Bring in Maestro Keri-Lynn Wilson who did such an outstanding job with Mtsensk.

Both a brilliant composition and an outstanding production

John Dexter and David Hockney‘s French triple bill of Poulenc‘s Les mamelles de Tirésias, Satie‘s Parade, and Ravel‘s L’enfant et les sortilèges, last seen in 2002. This clip is from Barcelona but you can enjoy Gabriel Bermúdez nonetheless.