Sweet home Ithaca Sweet home Ithaca

Monteverdi’s late Homeric masterpiece Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria isn’t often performed in the United States.

I will remember you I will remember you

Only time can tell if some performances enter the collective opera memory, if such a thing even exists, as “historical”

The other woman The other woman

I can’t think of an opera this year that I’ve enjoyed as much as Tuesday’s Met Macbeth, thanks especially to the smashing house debut of Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi as its blazing Madame M.

Portrait of a Lady on fire Portrait of a Lady on fire

My blood sure boiled at this revival of the Met’s utterly punchable production of Macbeth.

“Confusion now hath made his masterpiece” “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece”

I have found myself truly bewildered by some of the online reviews of the Glimmerglass production of Verdi’s Macbeth.

Hysterical blondeness Hysterical blondeness

Wednesday brought the Met’s “real” season opener, an indelible, indispensable night at the opera: a starry revival of Verdi’s Macbeth crowned by Anna Netrebko’s demented Lady.

And no bones! And no bones!

Apparently, opera fans got the bright side of the bargain: say “Macbeth” in the theater and you court cataclysm; utter the name in the opera house and, as often as not, you merely predict disappointment.

Does a big voice need defending?

Our Own Little Stevie reflects on the Met’s new Macbeth. I’d like to admit a guilty pleasure of mine: I’ve secretly been waiting with a lot of anticipation for Maria Guleghina to sing in Macbeth and Norma this year. I have not told this to many people because it seems that the common expectation has…