Seville servants Seville servants

A muted and merry carousel ride out of feudalism in the Met’s production of Le nozze di Figaro

Paranorma activity Paranorma activity

Following the peek at Asmik Grigorian‘s attempt, parterre box humbly offers an in-house snippet of Federica Lombardi‘s “Casta Diva” from a few blocks over on the Ringstrasse

A favorite Mozart performance from Bertrand Simon A favorite Mozart performance from Bertrand Simon

Instead of giving laurels to a performance already praised since a long time, my choice will be Don Giovanni, Metropolitan Opera, May 2023.

New kids from the bloc New kids from the bloc

If song recitals by opera stars Piotr Beczala and Asmik Grigorian sometimes came up short, Semyon Bychkov’s powerful rendition of the Glagolitic Mass instantly became one of the year’s highlights.

Servant leadership Servant leadership

Christina Colanduoni on Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Le Nozze di Figaro

Tuckered out Tuckered out

This Sunday marked a muted return of the Richard Tucker Foundation Gala, which had the dubious distinction of the fourth edition not to feature a prizewinner and perhaps the first not to provide complete orchestral and choral accompaniment for its performers.

Dreamers with empty hands Dreamers with empty hands

It’s autumn in New York, baby.

Nervous system theater Nervous system theater

Like a sommelier of male entitlement, Peter Mattei paired with precision moves from a wide-ranging vocabulary of gesture.

Ocean, thou mighty monster Ocean, thou mighty monster

Michael Spyres’s nobly moving Idomeneo wasn’t just a bravura triumph: singing strongly throughout, he brought more colors to his portrayal of the tortured king than I had experienced from others in the Ponnelle production.

A crazier day A crazier day

Saturday’s performance of Le nozze di Figaro at the Met mined the humor from Mozart’s divine setting of Beaumarchais’s play about a crazy day in the Almaviva household.

Not really about ‘La bohème’ Not really about ‘La bohème’

What is there to say about the Franco Zeffirelli Bohème? What is left to say?

New blood New blood

I was shocked to realize I hadn’t seen Don Giovanni at the Met since Michael Grandage’s stultifying production opened in 2011.

Mad about the Prey Mad about the Prey

A 1985 broadcast of Don Giovanni featuring Cheryl Studer, Gundula Janowitz (as Elvira!), Krisztina Laki, Gösta Winbergh, Hermann Prey (in a rare outing as the Don) and Malcolm King conducted by Jeffrey Tate.