Dogecoin
In sum: not a perfect Simon Boccanegra—is there such a thing?—but a grand and often great one.
Ana María Martínez
32 pieces since 2012 — in 24 roles, at 12 companies, most often at LA Opera.
32
pieces
24
roles
12
companies
15
years
By role
Cio-Cio-San 2
Despina 2
Fiordiligi; Donna Elvira; Countess Almaviva 1
Violetta 1
Tosca 1
Tatiana 1
Soleá 1
Paolina 1
Nedda 1
Mimi 1
Manon Lescaut 1
La Catrina 1
Florencia Grimaldi 1
Florencia 1
Amelia 1
Elisabetta di Valois 1
Elisabetta 1
Donna Elvira 1
Countess Almaviva 1
Cio-Cio San 1
Catrina 1
Carmen 1
Butterfly 1
Amelia Grimaldi 1
Role Amelia
Role Amelia Grimaldi
Senior moment
Being an opera lover in Los Angeles is a lot like being a Red Sox fan. As hard as they try we never make it to the World Series, let alone the playoffs.
Role Butterfly
Winter afternoon’s dream
It took the better part of a decade—including two high-profile cancelations—or New York to finally hear Anna Netrebko in recital.
Role Carmen
Carmen denominator
When you attend a performance of Georges Bizet’s Carmen you can never be quite certain which one you’re in for.
Role Catrina
Flores para los muertos
Despite this being the first full-length opera for Gabriela Lena Frank, there’s no lack of experience across the creative team which, along with favorable reviews for the production, contributed to high levels of anticipation.
Role Cio-Cio San
To live and die (with honor) in L.A.
Los Angeles first saw Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly presented at the Mason Opera House downtown in 1908 by the English Grand Opera Company. Rumors that LA Opera Artistic Director Placido Domingo portrayed Cio-Cio San’s little boy in that production remain unsubstantiated.
Under the covers
Winter weather has taken a toll on the cast of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s revival of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Wise woman
Ana Maria Martinez’s tremendously impressive Cio-Cio-San dominated the season premiere of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Met.
Role Countess Almaviva
A delicate balance
For anyone who thought that Downton Abbey, with its plot lines divided between the gentry and their faithful (or not-so) servants was somehow unique, that particular tale, and lo its many variations, has been told in one form or another since Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais put quill to paper in 1778 with La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro.
Role Despina
The Women are like that
A stylish and funny Così fan tutte at LA Opera is a pretty glam affair, according to Patrick Mack.
‘Così,’ cheap ‘n cheerful
In 2022, making Così fan tutte intimate is not a radical act. Making it enjoyable, however, is.
Role Donna Elvira
Nervous system theater
Like a sommelier of male entitlement, Peter Mattei paired with precision moves from a wide-ranging vocabulary of gesture.
Role Elisabetta
Four faints in five acts
That little place just two hours from the city is on the list of things I shall never understand, like the plot of Parsifal.
Role Elisabetta di Valois
Marquis name
For opening night of the new LA Opera season Placido Domingo decided to return to one of his best Verdi showcases, Don Carlo, only this time as the baritone, Rodrigo the Marquis di Posa, instead of the title character.
Role Fiordiligi; Donna Elvira; Countess Almaviva
A very little night music
The unevenly-beating Heart unfortunately proved less than the sum of its deluxe parts.
Role Florencia
The river of dreams
The opera utilizes the idea of “magical realism,” telling a realistic story combined with elements of magic and fantasy.
Role Florencia Grimaldi
Stormy weather
Looking at the Houston Grand Opera’s 2018/19 season, I think Hurricane Harvey subconsciously must have had an impact on the choice of operas.
Role La Catrina
Death becomes her and him
El último sueño de Frida y Diego at the Lyric Opera of Chicago is a visual and sonic wonder, but a weak libretto dampens its effect.
Role Manon Lescaut
Pazzo son, guardate!
Manon Lescaut was Giacomo Puccini’s first big international success. His publisher, Giulio Ricordi, tried to put him off the project by citing Jules Massenet’s very successful adaptation just nine years previously. Puccini was intent on making the story his own, insisting, “A woman like Manon can have more than one lover… I shall feel it […]
Role Mimi
Role Nedda
Fifty shades of Domingo
LA Opera opened their 30th season with a pairing of two of their most popular productions, both of which were initially staged by filmmakers not unfamiliar with the vagaries of our industry outpost here in Hollywoodland.
Role Paolina
You can’t hide your lion eyes
The UK’s first-ever production of Poliuto, now available from Opus Arte on DVD, set the lions of Rome among the lambs of Glyndebourne.
Role Soleá
What the cat dragged in
As you can imagine, oaths are sworn, curses are flung with avidity, and a mysterious shepherd sings a tune of foreboding from a distant mountain gorge just when you’d expect it.
Role Tatiana
Les feuilles mortes
Lyric Opera of Chicago concluded its 2016-17 season with a spellbinding and wonderfully sung production of Tchaikovsky’s familiar Eugene Onegin.
Role Tosca
The ‘Drama’ you’ve been craving
Opera is back, baby, and it’s good to be home!
Role Violetta
Fathers’ day
How do we celebrate a long career in opera, particularly one as illustrious as Plácido Domingo‘s?
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
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).
