It has become that time of morning It has become that time of morning

Renée Fleming doesn’t sound Southern. In fact, she doesn’t even sound Earthian.

All about my mother All about my mother

Operatic history can be cruel where multiple works with the same subject are concerned

Search for Tamara Search for Tamara

The 2016 Richard Tucker Award recipient is Tamara Wilson.

Higher and higher Higher and higher

The good news is that the first concert was devoted to the exceptional artistry of Lawrence Brownlee.

At sunset At sunset

Sunday afternoon’s all-Richard Strauss concert served as a de facto commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the debut of Renée Fleming, long one of the house’s biggest stars.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one Stop me if you’ve heard this one

Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and a slew of their members of court are hanging out in the afterlife…

Our Lady of Perpetual Indulgence Our Lady of Perpetual Indulgence

If I were Renée Fleming, I, too, would indulge myself.

Where have all the bubbles gone? Where have all the bubbles gone?

As a whole, the evening seemed forced and a bit dispiriting.

Barton glances Barton glances

The annual Richard Tucker Gala is probably the event of the year to indulge your love of verismo staples and can belto screaming.

Lady on demand Lady on demand

If you had told me 20 years ago that at some point in the future I would have over 550 of the Metropolitan Opera’s performances, audio and video, at my command with the touch of a button I would say my eulogy had just been read and I’d been taken to my reward.

Poor wan Rusalka Poor wan Rusalka

The winter 2014 final run of the Met’s first/only Rusalka production (a new one is scheduled in a few seasons) seemed both a nod to the theater’s past and a hint of its future.

Blow a kiss, take a bough Blow a kiss, take a bough

Richard Strauss’s many one-act operas make excellent concert programs, both for their length (usually under two hours) and the primary place each gives the orchestration, a specialty where Strauss’s brilliance seldom deserted him.

Coming out Coming out

Christian Thielemann’s spirited, precise conducting and the superb, sumptuous playing of the Staatskapelle Dresden are the finest features of this strongly cast performance of Strauss’s Arabella.

The kindness of Previn The kindness of Previn

Renée Fleming is one of the most polarizing figures to be discussed here on an ongoing basis.

Ottoman and woman Ottoman and woman

“With radiant looks, we shall depart this world,” sing Konstanze and Belmonte near the end of Mozart’s exotic yet charming opera Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

In witch we serve In witch we serve

Sunday afternoon’s intermittently involving concert performance of Handel’s Alcina at Carnegie Hall starred an unusually intense Joyce DiDonato as a powerful sorceress blinded by her romantic delusions.

When I have sung my songs When I have sung my songs

Soprano Renée Fleming is certainly making the role of the Countess in Richard Strauss’s final opera Capriccio the focus of her late-career years.

On wings of Sondra On wings of Sondra

Sondra Radvanovsky lent her luminous voice to Chamberfest for what was an unexpectedly unique recital.

Fun with graphs Fun with graphs

La Cieca has come into possession of an interesting presentation, with fonts and everything, from Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, outlining their solution for the current financial crisis at the Metropolitan Opera.

The curse of drink The curse of drink

Two operas both alike in dignity, set in dimly lit Renaissance towns ruled by seething, conspiratorial courts.

Als wären Sie die Statue auf Ihrer eigenen Gruft Als wären Sie die Statue auf Ihrer eigenen Gruft

I am certain that we Parterrians are a very literate, even literary, group.

Platée du jour Platée du jour

What must have raced through the mind of the none-too-comely Spanish Infanta when she learned that the opera to be performed during the celebrations for her 1745 wedding to the French Dauphin revolved around the comeuppance of an ugly yet vain water nymph tricked into believing Jupiter was her ardent suitor?

Destination moon Destination moon

The legend of the mermaid is ancient, and recently scientists have theorized that these legends might have arisen when humans encountered marine mammals such as whales, seals, or sea lions.

Le jazz tiède Le jazz tiède

The crossover album: a hint that that an artist has either exhausted all the repertory at her command and owes her record label a new release or that her waning vocal resources really shouldn’t be taxed much further than an octave.