Bass desires Bass desires

Alexander Köpeczi, currently plying leading roles in two operas in Santa Fe and, rumor has it, the life of one prominent soprano, is the object of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.

My 600 performance life My 600 performance life

Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.

A favorite Donizetti performance from grimoaldo2 A favorite Donizetti performance from grimoaldo2

The Greatest Thing Ever (AKA Lisette Oropesa) in a stunning mad scene from Lucia di Lammermoor with the excellent Artur Rucinski and Roberto Tagliavini in an extremely effective production by David Alden at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

No country for gold men No country for gold men

Trove Thursday offers two very different live recordings of Halévy’s grand opera La Juive.

What women want What women want

Psychology is encoded in the composer’s vocal lines more than his librettist’s words.

No place like Rome No place like Rome

“There it is! The Castel Sant’ Angelo!”

Glyph you hadn’t, but you did Glyph you hadn’t, but you did

f you like opera to look like a museum, the Arena di Verona’s latest video of Aida should jump to the top of your wish list.

A Faustian bargain A Faustian bargain

What we have here is the grandest opera never heard.

Outdoor voice

We see the excited crowd at the Arena di Verona, the ancient structure lit by enormous stadium lights, the passing of candlelight through the audience, and tourists snapping pictures. The flash bulbs keep popping, right through the performance. And as the opera unfolds, there is that feeling of watching a tired Broadway cast walk through…