King of Versailles
Happy 86th birthday composer John Corigliano
Recent Stories
Donna Anna and the Dynamos
The new Opera News section of OPERA magazine already seems to be getting smaller, but the March issue features a long interview with Carol Vaness about Donna Anna.
The whole world was listening
Happy 77th birthday composer John Adams
Park and “Bark”
Taylor Mac isn’t known for being short-winded.
Social insecurity
Happy 65th birthday soprano Renée Fleming
A three-hour tour
We may all be armchair Handelians, but some of us are more used to it than others.
Glorifying the American girl
Happy 55th birthday mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato
Opening doors
Real estate is hot along the Acela corridor right now: as proof, Judith will have toured at least three castles in New York and Boston between this spring and last.
Thoughts on La Forza del destino: versions
Following the composition of Un ballo in maschera, Verdi had gone into a self-imposed retirement, at least musically; he had not composed a note in four years.
Pomp and circumstance
Born on this day in 1923 director and designer Franco Zeffirelli
Hamlet
Louis Langrée conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Stéphane Degout, Jodie Devos, Renée Tatum, and Raymond Aceto in a broadcast of Ambroise Thomas’s opera from last fall
Elektra
A broadcast from last month of the much-discussed London production featuring Ausrine Stundyte, Sara Jakubiak, Karita Mattina, Charles Workman, and Lukasz Golinski conducted by Antonio Pappano
Valentines from the Met: Great Love Duets
A valentine from New York
Adriana Lecouvreur
Daniele Rustioni conducts Tamara Wilson in her Einspringerin debut in the title role alongside Brian Jagde, Clémentine Margaine, Maurizio Muraro, and Misha Kiria in a performance recorded last year in Paris
“You just want to kiss yourself, you sound so great”
Happy 97th birthday soprano Leontyne Price
Thoughts on La Forza del destino: influences
I’ve argued with myself for many years as to which was my favorite opera by Giuseppe Verdi, La forza del destino or Don Carlos. The latter finally won out especially after studying it in depth, but in the long run, it is the music of Forza that I love the most.
Matinee idol
On this day in 1974 soprano Kiri Te Kanawa made an “emergency” Met debut as Desdemona and her broadcast debut
Don’t you forget about me
It seemed like such a great idea on paper.
Norwegian crooner
Happy 37th birthday soprano Lise Davidsen
If you remember, then follow
How many hours of our lives are spent looking back?
Gianni Schicchi & L’heure espagnole
Carlo Lepore, Vuvu Mpofu, Giovanni Sala, Ya-Chung Huang, Karine Deshayes, and Markus Werba are conducted by Michele Mariotti in a live broadcast from Rome
Poverty and oysters always seem to go together
On this day in 1928 soprano Grace Moore made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mimi.
Boxer briefs
I had some trepidation about attending Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion because the “sport” of boxing has never appealed to me.