Everyone’s gone to the moon Everyone’s gone to the moon

The Met’s recent Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra combo left me wanting more and more Richard Strauss, so Trove Thursday offers a complete Capriccio with Jonas Kaufmann (his one-and-only Flamand) and Christopher Maltman vying for Soile Isokoski.

By April 28, 2022 at 10:00 AM
71 comments
For unto us a child is born For unto us a child is born

Each year, when I take in a performance of Messiah by the Philadelphia Orchestra as part of my own holiday tradition, I hope it will spark some new and exciting feeling inside of me, or offer a new way of looking at the musical drama as a whole.

By December 23, 2019 at 8:41 AM
3 comments
A Norman conquest A Norman conquest

When I first heard of this broadcast my thought was to save it to celebrate Jessye Norman‘s 75th birthday in 2020.

By October 03, 2019 at 10:00 AM
43 comments
Girl power Girl power

Washington National Opera’s lukewarm Alcina, unthreateningly misguided in both its musical and theatrical values, made little impact.

By November 06, 2017 at 9:26 AM
28 comments
Mourning becomes Iphigenia Mourning becomes Iphigenia

Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide (1774), the occasion of his Paris debut, gets far less respect than her sequel, Iphigénie en Tauride.

By February 11, 2015 at 12:06 PM
27 comments
Enfin, elle est en notre présence Enfin, elle est en notre présence

Almost exactly one hundred years ago on March 18, 1912, the Metropolitan Opera gave its final performance to date of Armide.

By February 10, 2012 at 4:19 PM
29 comments