I decided I’d take ‘never made it to the Met’ as an excuse to submit a post about why French soprano Denise Duval (1921-2015) is special to me.
To celebrate Valerie Masterson‘s turning 85 tomorrow, Trove Thursday offers a second annual birthday salute to the English soprano.
Trove Thursday offers a nearly forgotten 19th century opera with a most marvelous name: Le Roi d’Ys by Éduoard Lalo featuring a superb French cast led by Alain Vanzo, Andrea Guiot, Jane Rhodes and Robert Massard.
Trove Thursday offers Offenbach’s delightful La Grande-duchesse de Gérolstein featuring Jennie Tourel, Laurel Hurley and Martial Singher, led by Arnold Gamson.
Off-and-on since last fall my PPP (Personal Pandemic Project) has been assembling a chronology of the American Opera Society. For 19 years beginning in 1951 it presented a remarkable series of concert performances of works unperformed by either the Met or New York City Opera.
It’s a pity that Francis Poulenc took so long to getting around to compose his operas.
Sandrine Piau‘s lovely recital with pianist Susan Manoff at The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society on February 14 entered around the themes of sleep, dreams and waking.
On her 90th birthday “Trove Thursday” presents the late great Belgian mezzo Rita Gorr parenting Régine Crespin in Massenet’s Hérodiade.
Soprano Denise Duval, muse to Francis Poulenc, died yesterday in Switzerland. She was 94.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Sign up for our free Newsletter.
Support Parterre Box
Donate to keep opera's liveliest publication free and independent. No paywalls, no institutional backing, no bootlicking.
Get our free newsletter
Opera's top reads delivered to your email weekly…ish.
Join over 100k readers.
The best opera magazine on the web.
Reviews, breaking news, critical essays, and brainrot commentary on opera from those demented enough to love it.
Essentials
Copyright © 2026 Parterre Box.
All rights reserved.
Registration or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy.
Sign up for Parterre’s free newsletter.
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.