Recent Stories
Simone Young conducts Tomasz Konieczny, Olafur Sigurdarson, John Daszak, Christa Mayer, Christina Nilsson, Okka von der Damerau, and Ya-Chung Huang in a live broadcast from the 2024 Bayreuther Festpiele
Happy 83rd birthday conductor Riccardo Muti
Happy 72nd birthday soprano Carol Vaness
I suspect Carolina Uccelli was tough.
The 2024 Bayreuther Festpiele continues with Nathalie Stutzman conducting Klaus Florian Vogt, Günther Groissböck, Elisabeth Teige, Irene Roberts, Markus Eiche, and Siyabonga Maqungo in a slightly delayed broadcast from the Grünen Hügel
Happy 56th birthday soprano Anne Schwanewilms
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
Tra voi belle
Tra voi belle
Following the announcement that she’ll make her Met debut next season, Grand Tier Grab Bag brings Italian soprano Erika Grimaldi to your attention with a duet from Manon Lescaut.
Following the announcement that she’ll make her Met debut next season, Grand Tier Grab Bag brings Italian soprano Erika Grimaldi to your attention with a duet from Manon Lescaut.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
León in winter
León in winter
Ahead of his performance in Les pêcheurs de perles with Washington Concert Opera, Parterre Box features the unusually elegant Anthony León performing Mozart.
Ahead of his performance in Les pêcheurs de perles with Washington Concert Opera, Parterre Box features the unusually elegant Anthony León performing Mozart.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Assai più vale il soglio
che un genitor perduto
Assai più vale il soglio
che un genitor perduto
Parterre Box highlights a busy few months of Verdi performances for Marina Rebeka and Ludovic Tézier with an exciting sample of their debuts in Nabucco.
Parterre Box highlights a busy few months of Verdi performances for Marina Rebeka and Ludovic Tézier with an exciting sample of their debuts in Nabucco.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Women’s liberation
Women’s liberation
Parterre Box highlights two recent Verdi Requiems of interest with a pair of Libera mes from Asmik Grigorian and Anna Netrebko.
Parterre Box highlights two recent Verdi Requiems of interest with a pair of Libera mes from Asmik Grigorian and Anna Netrebko.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Ash and you shall receive
Ash and you shall receive
Bellini and Donizetti may be top of mind these days, so Parterre Box offers two budding belcantisti, Beth Taylor and Dave Monaco, in a duet from Rossini’s La cenerentola.
Bellini and Donizetti may be top of mind these days, so Parterre Box offers two budding belcantisti, Beth Taylor and Dave Monaco, in a duet from Rossini’s La cenerentola.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
When her ship comes in
When her ship comes in
Anticipating the titanic arrival of Lise Davidsen‘s Isolde in New York in March, Parterre Box is thrilled to share a bit of her debut opposite Clay Hilley recorded in Barcelona last week.
Anticipating the titanic arrival of Lise Davidsen‘s Isolde in New York in March, Parterre Box is thrilled to share a bit of her debut opposite Clay Hilley recorded in Barcelona last week.
“In over nine years you’ve never posted an opera by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari,” no one has ever said.
Born on this day in 1894 soprano Yvonne Printemps
Semyon Bychkov conducts the opening performance of the 2024 Bayreuther Festpiele with Andreas Schager, Camilla Nylund, Günther Groissböck, Christa Mayer, Olafur Sigurdarson, and Birger Radde
John Brancy, Deepa Johnny, Anthony León, Mariana Flores, and Alex Rosen lead a recent performance from Aix-en-Provence conducted by Leonardo García Alcarón
This July, Munich played host to hordes of football fans in town for the European Championship—and arguably the two finest working sopranos today.
Born on this day in 1921 tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano
Raphaël Pichon conducts Pene Pati, Karine Deshayes, Marianne Crebassa, Lea Desandre, Emily Pogorelc, and Nahuel di Pierro in a recent performance from Aix-en-Provence
Happy 64th birthday mezzo-soprano Susan Graham
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
The René Jacobs Giulio Cesare is so overrated
The René Jacobs Giulio Cesare is so overrated
George Frideric Handel (born 341 years ago on Monday) composed over 40 operas including many masterpieces, but his Giulio Cesare is the one that everyone knows best.
George Frideric Handel (born 341 years ago on Monday) composed over 40 operas including many masterpieces, but his Giulio Cesare is the one that everyone knows best.
The Talk of the Town
The 1946 La traviata is so overrated
The 1946 La traviata is so overrated
For all his undeniable precision and discipline, I still find Toscanini’s tempi rushed and unyielding and his lack of rubato a chilly turnoff.
For all his undeniable precision and discipline, I still find Toscanini’s tempi rushed and unyielding and his lack of rubato a chilly turnoff.
The Talk of the Town
The 1957 Anna Bolena is so overrated
The 1957 Anna Bolena is so overrated
While the three leads do sing the material well, there has been a glut of recordings since then which are more complete and at least as well sung.
While the three leads do sing the material well, there has been a glut of recordings since then which are more complete and at least as well sung.
The Talk of the Town
The Solti Ring Cycle is so overrated
The Solti Ring Cycle is so overrated
It was many decades ago that I first listened to the Solti Ring Cycle.
It was many decades ago that I first listened to the Solti Ring Cycle.
The Talk of the Town
The 1959 Aïda is so overrated
The 1959 Aïda is so overrated
Karajan’s 1959 Aïda was once treated like gospel, a wall of plush Vienna Philharmonic sound and star power that critics dutifully genuflected before.
Karajan’s 1959 Aïda was once treated like gospel, a wall of plush Vienna Philharmonic sound and star power that critics dutifully genuflected before.
The Talk of the Town
The 1973 La bohème is so overrated
The 1973 La bohème is so overrated
The Solti recording of Bohème is completely miscast.
The Solti recording of Bohème is completely miscast.
Born on this day in 1909 soprano Licia Albanese
Born on this day in 1936 soprano Ursula Schröder-Feinen
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