To be a poet is a condition To be a poet is a condition

Are today’s stars enough to sustain Andrea Chénier?

By November 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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Vigorous to rigorous Vigorous to rigorous

Dmitry Matvienko led a performance of Mussorgsky and Shostakovich at La Monnaie with meticulous rectitude.

By October 27, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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An afternoon at the opera An afternoon at the opera

Il trovatore may be famous for its melodramatic plot and unlikely mistaken identities, but surely even Verdi and Cammarano couldn’t have imagined the chaos of a performance featuring two Manricos and two Leonoras.

By November 19, 2024 at 10:00 AM
21 comments
Cuck and ball torture Cuck and ball torture

On October 20th, a wet but warmish Friday night, the Metropolitan Opera opened this season’s revival of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera in David Alden’s 2012 production.

By October 23, 2023 at 9:00 AM
62 comments
A farewell to Frisell A farewell to Frisell

Old opera productions at the end of their performing life can be sad affairs. 

By May 02, 2023 at 11:28 AM
80 comments
Alone in the world Alone in the world

Step aside, Texas: “Everything is bigger at Aida” is the motto of the Met’s second attempt at retiring Sonja Frisell’s colossal production.

By December 03, 2022 at 9:28 PM
114 comments
Cri du coeur Cri du coeur

Sondra Radvanovsky returned for her 29th Met Aïda Thursday night (but only her second Aïda.)

By March 01, 2019 at 11:36 AM
63 comments
Cabal me by your name Cabal me by your name

It’s fortunate that the Met’s production of Luisa Miller featured the incomparable Piotr Beczala in the role of Rodolfo.

By March 31, 2018 at 5:45 PM
38 comments