Orientation Orientation

There were plenty of Turan-do’s and only a few Turandon’ts at the Met’s Turandot Sunday afternoon.

The trouble with troubadours The trouble with troubadours

Anita Rachvelishvili and Quinn Kelsey towered over an otherwise pedestrian if still exciting Il Trovatore.

Turandon’t Turandon’t

From the perspective of current identity politics, Puccini’s Turandot is a disaster of epic proportions.

Ice storm Ice storm

Two months after my last visit to this season’s sixteen-performance run of Puccini’s Turandot, I returned eager to witness the latest chapter in the sporadic Met career of Nina Stemme. Rising stars Anita Hartig and Alexander Tsymbalyuk also appeared in their roles for the first time at the Met, so Monday evening turned into a…

Enigma variation Enigma variation

On Thursday evening Jennifer Wilson “finally” made a belated, disappointing Met debut as Turandot.

The unanswered question The unanswered question

Would exciting American dramatic soprano Christine Goerke be the next great ice-princess we have been waiting for?

“Parade” passes by

“Parade” is defined simply by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a pompous show.” Fitting enough, then, that the triple bill titled Parade: An Evening of French Music Theatre recorded at the Met on March 16, 2002 consists of Erik Satie’s ballet Parade, Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and Maurice Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. These…