My comfort opera after all these years remains Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, even with its sociologically problematical presentation of Japanese culture.
Patrick Mack looks back on “a great, nay, historic evening,” Renata Scotto‘s 1981 performance of Il trittico, now newly available on Met Opera on Demand.
Judith Malafronte on firebrand pedagogues, the old-school singing manual revival, and what many voice teachers are getting wrong.
On this day in 1922 the Metropolitan Opera presented the company debut of Catalani’s Loreley.
Is there any opera that can take more of a beating while still making an impact than Eugene Onegin?
Next, I asked Marko Mimica which basses he prefers to listen to on recordings.
The principal cast members for the week’s Aida are all Wagnerians: Birgit Nilsson, Sándor Kónya, Rita Gorr and Cornell MacNeil.
Be wary of operas that are famous for just one aria or just one famous opinion.
In this new Decca DVD of Tosca we find a highly intellectual, even fascinating staging at odds with the visceral nature of the original melodrama but one that inspires its cast to great heights. Robert Carsen is a clever producer with an elegant visual palette. He employs the same directorial strategy as his famous Mefistofele…
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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