Queening out Queening out

Brett Dean‘s Of One Blood casts a well-trodden Tudor tale in a poignant, new light.

Anna Caterina Antonacci should have made it to the Met Anna Caterina Antonacci should have made it to the Met

The one who got away was Anna Caterina Antonacci, a thrilling performer.

A favorite bass performance from Carmen Paddock A favorite bass performance from Carmen Paddock

Christopher Purves in Saul – the clarity, the range, the expression, the drama!

Dad, I’m seria Dad, I’m seria

Sir Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra strike (almost) all the right notes in their new recording of Mozart’s Idomeneo.

A favorite Wagner performance from Carmen Paddock A favorite Wagner performance from Carmen Paddock

Recency bias is in full swing here, but Glyndebourne’s first ever staging of Parsifal – and my first Parsifal – takes top prize for me.

Thane and suffering Thane and suffering

In the 1847 version of Macbeth, the forces of Teatro Nuovo lacked the thunderous punch this music can pack, but provided a pleasant ride

Born to command Born to command

Audacious star performances elevate safe direction in Richard II and The Seagull on London’s West End

<em>The Women</em> are like that <em>The Women</em> are like that

A stylish and funny Così fan tutte at LA Opera is a pretty glam affair, according to Patrick Mack.

It’s Brittany, bitch It’s Brittany, bitch

Sparks flew when the San Francisco Opera opened their new production of Richard Wagner’s monumental Tristan und Isolde on Saturday, October 19th, at the War Memorial Opera House.

Favola bella che ieri t’illuse, che oggi m’illude Favola bella che ieri t’illuse, che oggi m’illude

Washington Concert Opera’s season opened with a triumphant performance of Gioachino Rossini’s rarely heard Ermione Saturday night at George Washington University in D.C., led by Antony Walker and a stellar quartet of principals in Angela Meade, Lawrence Brownlee, David Portillo, and Ginger Costa-Jackson.

Guys who sing high (and others) Guys who sing high (and others)

A stack of noteworthy recent baroque vocal CDs on my desk has been staring at me for weeks, so I’m tackling them on Handel’s birthday before the Met roars back into action beginning this weekend.

Leveling up or leveling down? Leveling up or leveling down?

Arts Council England, as a global policy trendsetter, may have sounded the death knell for the international opera industry as we know it.

“Oh, thoughtless crew! Ye know not what ye do!” “Oh, thoughtless crew! Ye know not what ye do!”

One wonders whether an obsession with metrics and measurement has the potential to create arts organizations that are more preoccupied with finding systems that quickly and efficiently tick the Arts Council’s boxes than with creating meaningful, impactful art.

A game of 3-D chess A game of 3-D chess

“Opera needs a reset. We think there needs to be a fundamental shift in the ecology.”

“The work by which I stand or fall” “The work by which I stand or fall”

Dame Ethel Smyth’s third opera, The Wreckers, opened at Houston Grand Opera on October 28 and runs through November 11.

Can we still be friends? Can we still be friends?

As soon as James Clutton, the new Opera Holland Park director, stepped on stage to welcome the audience, we all knew that we were not at the typical English summer opera festival.

I have a song to sing, O! I have a song to sing, O!

The lovely English soprano Valerie Masterson turns 84 today, prompting Trove Thursday to present her in a pair of her specialties.

When a Met loves a woman When a Met loves a woman

The Met recently submitted another eye-roll inducing entry for the Woke Olympics with their Women’s History Month slate.

“I am finding my way as I go” “I am finding my way as I go”

The musical director of the Opera Royal de Wallonie at Liege is currently experiencing the early phase of a promising international career in music.

Upon arrival Upon arrival

Lise Davidsen, the young Norwegian soprano who won the Operalia competition in 2015, makes her debut as a recording artist with the Decca label in a new recital of Wagner and Strauss arias and orchestral songs.

General Elektra General Elektra

Nina Stemme’s Elektra is familiar to me in three different incarnations.

Country matters Country matters

Stefan Herheim productions may be many things, but they’re always theatrical.

Less than hero Less than hero

Iestyn Davies’s theatrical blandness combined with his vocal unsuitability for the role left a hole at the center of Rinaldo.

Digging in the dirt Digging in the dirt

Even those of us who consider Guillaume Tell Rossini’s greatest opera understand why it has not been his most frequently staged.