The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie
This July, Munich played host to hordes of football fans in town for the European Championship—and arguably the two finest working sopranos today.
Christian Gerhaher
19 pieces since 2013 — in 5 roles, at 7 companies, most often at Metropolitan Opera.
19
pieces
5
roles
7
companies
14
years
Role Golaud
Role Jesus
Black, box
Passion propels more operas than almost any other human emotion; however, many musical dramas have a very different sort of passion—the final days of Jesus—as their subject.
Role Wolfram
Not in Kansas anymore
Christopher Corwin speaks to rising bass-baritone Le Bu about his journey from Yancheng, China to the Met (with a stop in Wichita) and what important roles await him.
Wide-eyed mania
There is a moment about 75% of the way through the Rome Narrative where you can almost literally hear Tannhäuser’s stomach turn.
Springtime for Wagner
Could Marek Janowski do for Wagner what the early music movement did for the Baroque and Classical repertory?
By Adriel
9 comments
Role Wolfram von Eschenbach
Christian science monitored
In any case, we probably got as good a Tannhäuser cast as could be assembled these days.
Role Wozzeck
The men who rule Ramrod
It’s been eight decades since darling Aix-en-Provence was under attack—its last formal invasion, at least by non-operagoers, was in 1942 during the German occupation of southern France. But on Friday, the town was besieged once again by its annual festival, with two dazzling premieres that examined the cruel and constructive dimensions of war and revolution.
Brute force
Alban Berg’s compact yet potent oeuvre has long played an outsized role in shaping my understanding of music’s aesthetic evolution.