Having a hunchback
Born on this day in 1802 author and playwright Victor Hugo
Recent Stories
Duke it out
On this day in 1948 tenor Giuseppe di Stefano made his Metropolitan Opera debut at the Duke of Mantua
Mozart and Beethoven in Concert at the Met
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts a 2023 performance of Mozart’s Requiem with Golda Schultz, Emily D’Angelo, Dmytro Popov, Vladyslav Buialskyi and a 2022 performance of the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Elza van den Heever, Jamie Barton, Piotr Beczala, and Ryan Speedo Green
Vassallo della man
Born on this day in 1934 soprano Renata Scotto
Private tudoring
Anna Bolena is one of the many works by Donizetti which, after their modern recovery in the second part of the last century, have both never fully left the stage while simultaneously never becoming a repertoire staple Lucia di Lammermoor or L’elisir d’amore.
La Marseillaise
Born on this day in 1927 soprano Régine Crespin
Excessive use of forza
Three live recordings of Verdi’s fateful opera: one featuring a cast I heard in the distant past, another from Paris just over a year ago with a cast completely different from the Met’s, as well as the complete St. Petersburg version
Dropping Anckarström
On this day in 1980 baritone Leo Nucci made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Renato
Metropolitan Opera 2024-25
The Metropolitan Opera reveals its upcoming season
London calling
I watched the finals for this year’s George and Nora London Foundation competition and would like to offer, if not a traditional review, a brief roundup of who I found exceptionally watchable and whom I think you, dear parterre boxers, should watch out for in the next few years.
Ceaseless mugging
The phrase “immersive Coffee Cantata experience” evokes being dipped into a giant, boiling vat of java.
Let the more loving one be me
Born on this day in 1907 librettist and poet W. H. Auden
San Francisco Opera 2024-25
The first of the major American opera houses to announce its 2024-25 season did so today
Being beauteous
With its sumptuous wood paneling, frescoed ceilings, and various Gilded Age trappings, the Park Avenue Armory’sBoard of Officers Room certainly is not a bad place to spend Valentine’s Day—even better when it plays host to equally sumptuous music-making.
French dip
On this day the Metropolitan Opera premiered triple bill of Satie‘s Parade, and Poulenc‘s Les Mamelles de Tirésias and Ravel‘s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges
Thoughts on La Forza del destino: recordings
As said at the beginning, I implied I’d rather see Don Carlo(s) and listen to Forza.
È dolce cosa vivere obliando
On this day in 1914 Zandonai‘s Francesca da Rimini premiered in Turin
Omar
Jamez McCorkle, Cierra Byrd, Daniel Okulitch, Brianna J. Robinson, and
Neal Ferreira in a broadcast of Rhiannon Giddens’s and Michael Abels’s Pulitzer Prize-winning opera from Boston last spring
Il trovatore
Roberto Aronica, Lucas Meachem, Marta Torbidoni, Chiara Mogini, and Gianluca Buratto in a live broadcast from Bologna conducted by Renato Palumbo
Guts and Gorr
Born on this day in 1926 mezzo-soprano Rita Gorr
Un ballo in maschera
A broadcast from fall 2023 featuring Charles Castronovo, Angela Meade, Quinn Kelsey, Liv Redpath, and Olesya Petrova conducted by Carlo Rizzi
Uphill both ways
On this day in 1904 Puccini’s Madama Butterfly had its disastrous premiere in Milan
Thoughts on La Forza del destino: characters
It is a measure of Verdi’s genius that throughout the four rambling acts, his musical invention in the service of creating characters never failed him.
Video: Celebrating James Jorden
The parterre team is glad to make available a professionally produced recording of the February 3rd memorial held in honor of parterre box founder James Jorden