Faust or famine Faust or famine

In a satanic panic, this week Chris’s Cache presents trio of performances of Mefistofele

The Lady Eve The Lady Eve

For nearly 70 years, New York City was the world capital of concert opera thanks first to the American Opera Society, then to Eve Queler’s Opera Orchestra of New York.

Rake, no progress

James Levine: Celebrating 40 Years at the Met includes not only unreleased video performances on DVD but also live radio broadcasts on CD.  This performance is one of the latter,  originally heard April 19, 2003. The Rake’s Progress has one of the greatest operatic pedigrees of all time.  It was inspired by a series of…

Gualtier tells “Tales”

So, I was asking my friends with Met Opera insider connections about the new Hoffmann production directed by Bartlett Sher. Seemingly conceived under an unlucky star, this production first lost two of its four heroines when Anna Netrebko decided not sing Olympia and Giulietta but kept Antonia and also Stella, leaving the dramaturgy somewhat lopsided.