Recent Stories
Born on this day in 1922 soprano/mezzo-soprano/opera director Regina Resnik
One of the goals of both Trove Thursday and now Chris’s Cache has been to share pirate recordings of the valuable NYC groups that have presented concert operas over the decades.
Born on this day in 1926 baritone Thomas Stewart
The first clip of Pablo Larraín‘s Maria Callas biopic staring Angelina Jolie has been released
Dmitri Tcherniakov’s interpretation of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Höllander presents an engrossing character study about Senta and the Dutchman’s struggles against their insular community’s stifling conformism.
Happy 83rd birthday bass Paul Plishka
parterre‘s very own Max Keller opens up in The New York Times (!) about how starting T has affected their voice
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Erste Brautnacht
Erste Brautnacht
Nearly three years after the premiere of François Girard’s Lohengrin at the Met, Parterre Box looks back at the production with a duet from Piotr Beczala and Elena Stikhina.
Nearly three years after the premiere of François Girard’s Lohengrin at the Met, Parterre Box looks back at the production with a duet from Piotr Beczala and Elena Stikhina.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Tabled for now
Tabled for now
Ahead of the return of Louise to the Opéra National de Lyon, Parterre Box features Elsa Dreisig in a much more famous French opera.
Ahead of the return of Louise to the Opéra National de Lyon, Parterre Box features Elsa Dreisig in a much more famous French opera.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
My heart belongs to daddy
My heart belongs to daddy
This week, Parterre Box shares Quinn Kelsey and Jennifer Rowley in a duet from a Verdi opera rumored to be returning to New York this time next season.
This week, Parterre Box shares Quinn Kelsey and Jennifer Rowley in a duet from a Verdi opera rumored to be returning to New York this time next season.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Mediterranean crossings
Mediterranean crossings
Grand Tier Grab Bag anticipates Elina Garanca‘s upcoming Zwischenfach pivot by sharing her in some other not-quite-mezzo repertoire opposite Brian Jagde.
Grand Tier Grab Bag anticipates Elina Garanca‘s upcoming Zwischenfach pivot by sharing her in some other not-quite-mezzo repertoire opposite Brian Jagde.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Ritorna un’altra volta
Ritorna un’altra volta
Parterre Box anticipates Ailyn Peréz‘s upcoming New York performances of Madama Butterfly with the Puccini role most closely associated with her
Parterre Box anticipates Ailyn Peréz‘s upcoming New York performances of Madama Butterfly with the Puccini role most closely associated with her
Grand Tier Grab Bag
My sister’s keeper
My sister’s keeper
Grand Tier Grab Bag highlights La Scala’s opening night prima donna Sara Jakubiak with an excerpt of her Chrysothemis recorded last year.
Grand Tier Grab Bag highlights La Scala’s opening night prima donna Sara Jakubiak with an excerpt of her Chrysothemis recorded last year.
Happy 75th birthday Irish mezzo-soprano (not Canadian pop singer) Ann Murray
Roberto Kalb conducts Yaritza Véliz, Jonah Hoskins, Luke Sutliff, and Alfredo Daza in a performance recorded earlier this summer in Santa Fe
Love makes fools of us all – that seems to be the theme of this summer’s Glimmerglass Festival.
Born on this day in 1915 soprano Gré Brouwenstijn
Born on this day in 1918 composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein
Happy 68th birthday director and administrator Francesca Zambello
Born on this day in 1900 composer Ernst Krenek
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
The best thing I saw this year was Das Rheingold
The best thing I saw this year was Das Rheingold
Tobias Kratzer‘s production of Das Rheingold at the Bayerische Staatsoper was a resounding success.
Tobias Kratzer‘s production of Das Rheingold at the Bayerische Staatsoper was a resounding success.
The Talk of the Town
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Stiffelio
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Stiffelio
Looking back, this Stiffelio in Piacenza is the one I cherish the most.
Looking back, this Stiffelio in Piacenza is the one I cherish the most.
The Talk of the Town
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Amartuvshin Enkhbat
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Amartuvshin Enkhbat
I wasn’t alive during the golden age of Verdi baritones like MacNeil, Warren, or Gobbi, but hearing Amartuvshin Enkhbat live in an opera house must be the next best thing.
I wasn’t alive during the golden age of Verdi baritones like MacNeil, Warren, or Gobbi, but hearing Amartuvshin Enkhbat live in an opera house must be the next best thing.
The Talk of the Town
The best things I saw in 2025 were vocal recitals
The best things I saw in 2025 were vocal recitals
I’m going with four outstanding, deeply personal NYC recitals
I’m going with four outstanding, deeply personal NYC recitals
The Talk of the Town
The best thing I saw in 2025 was In a Grove
The best thing I saw in 2025 was In a Grove
I had the pleasure of going with some members of the Pittsburgh Opera to the PROTOTYPE Festival in New York at the start of the year- almost unfortunate it was so early on in 2025 because it set my expectations for the year so high!
I had the pleasure of going with some members of the Pittsburgh Opera to the PROTOTYPE Festival in New York at the start of the year- almost unfortunate it was so early on in 2025 because it set my expectations for the year so high!
The Talk of the Town
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Festen
The best thing I saw in 2025 was Festen
It’s a dazzling, shocking, and entertaining 100 minutes – one of the best new operas I’ve seen.
It’s a dazzling, shocking, and entertaining 100 minutes – one of the best new operas I’ve seen.
Don’t cry for me, Birgit Nilsson
Born on this day in 1862 composers Claude Debussy
Chris’s Cache celebrates the 91st birthday today of Janet Baker, one of my favorite singers.
Happy 91st birthday mezzo-soprano Dame Janet Baker
You probably won’t leave Idomeneo ready to burst out in song, but what the opera lacks in melodic immediacy it makes up for in sheer virtuosity.
On this day in 1828 Rossini’s Le comte Ory premiered in Paris
Karina Canellakis conducts Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Paula Murrihy, Matthew Rose, Ying Fang, and David Portillo in a performance recorded last month at The Santa Fe Opera
Jay Scheib’s Augmented-Reality Parsifal is a cautionary reminder that technological innovation shouldn’t absolve directors from the exacting work of deriving intelligent and fascinating theater from the source material.