Ainadamar
Miguel Harth-Bedoya leads Angel Blue, Elena Villalón, Daniela Mack, and Alfredo Tejada in Osvaldo Golijov and David Henry Hwang‘s opera
Recent Stories
E la Raina vede il cavalier
Inspired by Harry Rose’s recent fine polemic about verismo performance practice, Chris’s Cache offers one of Opera Orchestra of New York’s most exciting evenings: Zandonai’s Francesda da Rimini from 1973 with Raina Kabaivanska, Placido Domingo, and Matteo Manuguerra.
Boxing day
On this day in 1883 the Metropolitan Opera House opened with Gounod‘s Faust.
Tosca
Daniel Harding conducts Eleonora Burrato, Jonathan Tetelman, and Ludovic Tézier live from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in this most Roman of operas
Unnecessary performance problems
Patrick Mack on the iconic Ethan Mordden‘s career and his first book on opera in 30 years – and it appears that time has mostly stopped in the Mordden manse.
Hungarian rhapsode
Born on this day in 1912 conductor Georg Solti
I am in mourning for my life
Happy 79th birthday composer Thomas Pasatieri
Giulio Cesare
A performance recorded last fall at the Rome Opera
Fin de Partie
György Kurtág‘s only opera live from the Wiener Staatsoper
Clean and clear
Happy 90h birthday soprano Benita Valente
Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Marco Armiliato conducts Benjamin Bernheim, Erin Morley, Pretty Yende, Clémentine Margaine, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, and Christian Van Horn in a live broadcast from New York
Thoughts on Il trovatore: the opera
When asked to express some “thoughts” here about Verdi’s Il trovatore, my immediate thought was “hmm… not a lot to think about there.”
Feminine Weills
Born on this day in 1898 actress and singer Lotte Lenya
Spain and neutered
Ainadamar never quite found its identity between the two poles of conceptual and concrete.
Witchery and bitchery
Double double, toil and trouble, y’all, and happy spooky season from Slaylem. (It’s like Salem, but fun.)
Campo-town lady
On this day in 1991 soprano Deborah Voigt made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Amelia
Broken branching out
Karim Sulayman’s intentions are to demonstrate links and roots, in themes musical and poetic, crossing every boundary of culture, religion, nationality, genre.
I can resist everything but temptation
Born on this day in 1854 writer Oscar Wilde
Ainadamar
Miguel Harth-Bedoya leads Angel Blue, Elena Villalón, Daniela Mack, and Alfredo Tejada in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Osvaldo Golijov and David Henry Hwang‘s opera
Here a Leigh, there a Leigh
Judith Malafronte sits down with bass David Leigh who debuts as Rocco in Washington National Opera’s production of Fidelio next week
Oralia fixation
Born on this day in 1925 mezzo soprano Oralia Dominguez
Fear itself
Lately I’ve been preoccupied with Verdi and Il trovatore in particular anticipating the opera’s return to the Met later this month for the first time since 2018, this unusual deep-dive Chris’s Cache (on my birthday) is the result.
Electric slide
Born on this day in 1952 composer Kaija Saariaho
Long heard about but never heard in
On this day in 1965 soprano Renata Scotto made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cio-Cio San