Gertrud Grob-Prandl should have made it to the Met Gertrud Grob-Prandl should have made it to the Met

Yes, the Met had Birgit Nilsson – so they let the volcano that was Gertrude Grob-Prandl‘s voice slip through their fingers.

By Leyla Gender-Bender June 11, 2026 at 6:00 AM
66 comments
A favorite Verdi performance from Eli Jacobson A favorite Verdi performance from Eli Jacobson

The immortal Renata Tebaldi, just about 29 years old as Saint Joan in a RAI broadcast of Giovanna d’Arco from 1951.

By May 31, 2026 at 6:00 AM
58 comments
A favorite bass performance from Eli Jacobson A favorite bass performance from Eli Jacobson

This bass aria “Sous les pieds d’une femme” from Gounod’s La Reine du Saba used to be a concert favorite

By March 24, 2026 at 6:00 AM
42 comments
Pretty poison Pretty poison

The wicked poisoner showed herself in fine form, full of purple passion and lusty music-making that would gladden the heart of any bel canto enthusiast or opera lover in general. 

By May 27, 2023 at 2:34 PM
68 comments
Medea Medea

“Sondra Radvanovsky has an unconventional voice that is suited to unconventional characters and is best used in rangy, difficult music,” as heard on today’s Met broadcast.

By January 07, 2023 at 10:00 AM
141 comments
A dream deferred A dream deferred

In an era when the Metropolitan Opera cannot cast an Aida, Trovatore or Forza consistently, New Amsterdam Opera managed to cast large, attractive and fully technically capable voices in all the cruelly demanding principal roles in I Vespri Siciliani!

By October 25, 2021 at 11:52 AM
19 comments