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Antonio Pappano conducts Christopher Maltman, Christopher Purves, Sean Panikkar, Marina Prudenskaya, Kiandra Howarth, and Wiebke Lehmkuhl in a performance recorded in London last fall
Gábor Takács-Nagy conducts Peter Mattei, Golda Schultz, Tommaso Barea, Anna El-Khashem, and Rebecka Wallroth in a live performance from the Verbier Festival
Philippe Jordan conducts Federica Lombardi, Emily D’Angelo, Peter Kellner, Filipe Manu, Kate Lindsey, and Christopher Maltman in a performance from last month in Vienna
Born on this day in 1938 actresses Natalie Wood and Diana Rigg
Born on this day in 1868 soprano Florence Foster Jenkins
Not so many live primetime Bolshoi Opera performances were recorded, but when the company went on tour it always brought its very best singers, and often pirates were there to capture them.
Happy 70th birthday composer Tobias Picker
Born on this day in 1914 soprano Eleanor Steber
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.
On this day in 1782 Mozart‘s Die Entführung aus dem Serail premiered in Vienna
The rule that governs Dante’s Inferno is called the “contrapasso” – that every sinner is given a punishment in poetic proportion to their crime.
Happy 44th birthday to Broadway’s Laura Benanti
Born on this day in 1918 director and screenwriter Ingmar Bergman
Daniele Rustioni conducts Ermonela Jaho, Adam Smith, Mihoko Fujimura, and Lionel Lhote in a slightly delayed broadcast of Andrea Breth‘s production from Aix-en-Provence
A performance recorded earlier this month in London featuring Golda Schultz, Samantha Hankey, Daniel Behle, Andrè Schuen, Gerald Finley, and Jennifer France conducted by Alexander Soddy
Born on this day in 1924 tenor Carlo Bergonzi
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
The best thing I saw in 2025 was St. John the Baptist
The best thing I saw in 2025 was St. John the Baptist
What do you get when you blend innovative 17th century composition, 1970s family drama, and one of the most sordid tales of the New Testament?
What do you get when you blend innovative 17th century composition, 1970s family drama, and one of the most sordid tales of the New Testament?
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!
Born on this day in 1895 soprano Kirsten Flagstad
A broadcast of Dmitri Tcherniakov‘s back-to-back Gluck productions from Aix-en-Provence featuring Corinne Winters, Russell Braun, Véronique Gens, Florian Sempey, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, and Alexandre Duhamel with Le Concert d’Astrée conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm
Born on this day in 1925 soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs…
During the 1970s, Stephen Sondheim composed Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd–five richly varied masterpieces of musical theater in a nearly miraculous burst of creativity.
Happy 55th birthday tenor Jonas Kaufmann
Ben Bliss, Sabine Devieilhe, Franz-Josef Selig, Sophie Koch, and Christian Gerhaher are conducted in a live broadcast from the Munich Opera Festival by Hannu Lintu
As revivals of the composer’s sprawling works represent a daunting expense for many opera houses, exceptionally cast recordings of such concert performances serve as valuable documents that foster appreciation for his achievements.
Happy 87th birthday painter and designer David Hockney