Recent Stories
Mefistofele
Nicola Luisotti conducts Alex Esposito, Piero Pretti, Maria Agresta, Kamelia Kader, and Maria Teresa Leva in a live opening night broadcast from Venice
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Hope is a thing with feathers
After a century of searching, the world has perhaps finally found a definitive Magda in ethereal soprano Ailyn Pérez.
Blow the house down
Hailed as the first opera by an African-American composer performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones was a huge audience and box office hit in the Fall of 2021 when it reopened the Met after two seasons shut down by COVID-19.
The girl from Rovigo
On this day in 1975 soprano Katia Ricciarelli made her Met debut as Mimi
Baby crazy
Heartbeat Opera’s The Extinctionist — composed by Dan Schlosberg with a libretto by Amanda Quaid — is the first opera, as far as I know, to stage a pap smear.
Champagne tastes
Oh, La traviata, how do I love thee? Let me count the recordings.
Conosco il mestier
On this day in 1996 tenor Roberto Alagna made his Met debut as Rodolfo
La Sonnambula
Francesco Lanzillotta conducts a live broadcast from Rome as Lisette Oropesa makes a role debut as Amina alongside John Osborn and Roberto Tagliavini
Hear the dance
I confess to being a “bad” dance fan: over the decades I’ve learned that if I don’t love (or at least like) the music, I won’t love the dance.
Dienen theater
On this day in 1992 soprano Deborah Polaski made her Met debut as Kundry
Fire Shut Up in My Bones
Evan Rogister conducts Ryan Speedo Green, Latonia Moore, and Brittany Renee in a broadcast from New York
At liberty to divulge
If it didn’t all work, it wouldn’t work at all.
Italian stallion
Born on this day in 1921 tenor Franco Corelli
Elektra
Nina Stemme dances to death with Michaela Schuster, Elza van den Heever, and Johan Reuter in a live performance from Berlin conducted by Kirill Petrenko
Breaching the walls
On this day in 1975 Rossini‘s Siege of Corinth had its American stage premiere at the Metropolitan Opera
La Gioconda
Antonio Pappano conducts a high-profile performance from the Salzburg Easter Festival with Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann,, Tareq Nazmi, Eve-Maud Hubeaux, Luca Salsi, and Agnieszka Rehlis
L’elisir d’amore
A re-broadcast of a 1974 performance with Luciano Pavarotti, Judith Blegen, John Reardon, and Ezio Flagello conducted by Max Rudolf
Filial piety
On this day in 1989 soprano Sumi Jo made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Gilda
We’re spotting in April…
At the parterre box Calendar, nature is refurbishing herself. Spring varieties abound with the usual Met fare and all manner of recitals and rarities. We’ve got our eyes on these from our friends and sponsors.
Decadent genealogies
Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot are, in their different ways, the final decadent flowering of a musical tradition at its twilight.
Nur du allein
Born on this day in 1908 conductor and director Herbert von Karajan