Recent Stories
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
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
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Don’t cry because it’s over
Don’t cry because it’s over
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
When they go low
When they go low
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Nailin’ the coughin’
Nailin’ the coughin’
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.
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.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Landing the plane
Landing the plane
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Le galant tireur
Le galant tireur
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.
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.
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
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.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Leyla Gender-Bender
A favorite Verdi performance from Leyla Gender-Bender
Stiffelio has always been the dark horse of early Verdi operas.
Stiffelio has always been the dark horse of early Verdi operas.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Lou Ann Darras
A favorite Verdi performance from Lou Ann Darras
I have very few opportunities to see real-life opera divas, but when Natalie Dessay chose to debut her first Traviata at Santa Fe, there was no way I was going to miss it.
I have very few opportunities to see real-life opera divas, but when Natalie Dessay chose to debut her first Traviata at Santa Fe, there was no way I was going to miss it.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Astyanax
A favorite Verdi performance from Astyanax
The air held a real charge that night in SF’s War Memorial Opera House.
The air held a real charge that night in SF’s War Memorial Opera House.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Ivy Lin
A favorite Verdi performance from Ivy Lin
This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.
This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
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
Not too long ago, Benjamin Bernheim gave an interview to Opéra Magazine in which he stated “Je ne suis pas un top model.”
Born on this day in 1912 soprano Christel Goltz
A broadcast of this summer’s Gluckathon 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
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