The last time I saw Paris The last time I saw Paris

Trove Thursday goes mini-epic with Gustave Charpentier’s naturalistic slice-of-life of fin-de-siêcle Paris in a rare 1999 Renée Fleming performance of Louise co-starring Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey and Felicity Palmer.

A perpetual contrast A perpetual contrast

Trove Thursday completes its Prévosttrifecta with Puccini’s Manon Lescaut starring Sondra Radvanovsky and (pre-Met) Aleksandrs Antonenko conducted by Riccardo Chailly plus an added Radvanovsky-Puccini bonus: Suor Angelica.

Long lost daughter Long lost daughter

On this day in 1975 Rossini’s Siege of Corinth had its American stage premiere at the Metropolitan Opera. Soprano Beverly Sills made her official Met debut as Pamira.

Quand votre sœur Charlotte est là! Quand votre sœur Charlotte est là!

Trove Thursday previews Massenet’s Werther—due to return next month at the Met—with a 1984 Paris performance starring two marvelous protagonists, Tatiana Troyanos and Alain Vanzo.

Love, loss, and what I sang Love, loss, and what I sang

Sunday is Handel’s 335th birthday, an event Trove Thursday celebrates with Rodelinda, Regina de’Longobardi, one of the composer’s most popular works.

Give me the Templar life Give me the Templar life

Otto Nicolai’s Il Templario with Juan Diego Flórez, Clémentine Margaine and Luca Salsi.

In Memoriam Raymond Leppard In Memoriam Raymond Leppard

Trove Thursday acknowledges the late Raymond Leppard‘s important influence with a live broadcast of his seminal “realisation” of Cavalli’s L’Ormindo plus some Cavalli and Monteverdi tidbits with Janet Baker.

There is no spoon There is no spoon

Can a work with indisputably great music fail to add up to a successful opera? I puzzled over that Sunday during Teatro Nuovo’s essential concert staging of Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra at SUNY Purchase.

Et voila l’histoire Et voila l’histoire

To mark Beverly Sills’s 90th birthday (May 25, 1929) “Trove Thursday” offers the late diva’s acclaimed Massenet heroine opposite her ideal Des Grieux, Alain Vanzo.

My sister, my queen My sister, my queen

It had something for everyone who loves loud chesty singing and smoky soft-singing: from Tchaikovsky to Rachmaninoff to Strauss…

The unusual suspects The unusual suspects

Mad Scenes and Exit Arias:  The Death of the New York City Opera and the Future of Opera in America provides ample fodder for the legions of amateur opera sleuths seeking to confirm their theory of “Who Killed City Opera?”

Who’s that girl? Who’s that girl?

“Trove Thursday” goes modest with Donizetti’s domestic comedy Don Pasquale featuring Ileana Cotrubas, Alfredo Kraus, Vicente Sardinero and Wladimiro Ganzarolli.

The priestess with the mostest The priestess with the mostest

Edita Gruberova takes on the requirements of the title role in Bellini’s Norma.

You’ve got to climb Mount Everest You’ve got to climb Mount Everest

On this day in 1975 soprano Beverly Sills made her official Metropolitan Opera debut as Pamira in L’assedio di Corinto. 

No retreat, Nono surrender No retreat, Nono surrender

Intolleranza was presented by Leon Botstein and his American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Thursday night, holding the audience rapt and intrigued for 65 minutes.

The first time ever I heard her voice The first time ever I heard her voice

The Summer of 1983 is when “it” happened.

These three These three

In the midst of Tosca month “Trove Thursday” assembles from the 60s to the 80s an Il Trittico in which each opera features an important Italian star.

Z to A Z to A

Today’s offering is an electric performance of Verdi’s early potboiler Attila conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli.

Three sisters who are not sisters Three sisters who are not sisters

Due to bandwidth limits “Trove Thursday” must post some more modest offerings in months with five Thursdays.

Catch a falling tsar Catch a falling tsar

You’d think by now I’d know better than to make snap judgments about an opera or a singer—but apparently not.

Composer’s intentions Composer’s intentions

A live broadcast of the prologue to Ariadne auf Naxos featuring Julia Varady, a favorite sopranos in a role she sang only rarely.

Cock of the walk Cock of the walk

Zolotoy pyetushok (translated as The Golden Cockerel in English, is best known in these parts as Le Coq d’Or.

Matchless! Matchless!

Douglas Moore’s score for The Ballad of Baby Doe has everything that could please and little that could offend.

Gold rush Gold rush

Now we find Mariella Devia, a diva held in near mythic regard due to her vocal longevity, with competing videos of two of her performances that were released, literally, on the same day.