Zubin Mehta is a great opera conductor Zubin Mehta is a great opera conductor

Zubin Mehta was a major part of musical life when I moved to Southern California in 1969, having started his tenure as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Lorenzo Molajoli was a great opera conductor Lorenzo Molajoli was a great opera conductor

Lorenzo Molajoli is a mysterious figure.

Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor

I trust, fellow Parterre readers, that we can all agree that Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor.

Turkish delight on a moonlit night Turkish delight on a moonlit night

While it may not be top-tier Rossini, Teatro Nuovo’s mounting of Il turco in Italia is still good summer fun.

Mist opportunity Mist opportunity

Lucia di Lammermoor at La Scala, starring Rosa Feola, proves as airless as this summer’s heatwaves.

Aix tremendae, salva me Aix tremendae, salva me

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence confronts the living and the dead — and its own future — through audacious productions and an intimate world premiere.

Giuseppe Patanè was a great opera conductor Giuseppe Patanè was a great opera conductor

I think Patanè did far more than just hold it together: he did full honor to Verdi.

Aegean in place Aegean in place

Greek National Opera’s Medea in the ancient theater at Epidaurus is an intermittently rewarding exercise in nostalgia.

Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never made it to the Met Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never made it to the Met

Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never sang at the Met.

Robust possibilities Robust possibilities

After success at the Met as Turandot and before a historic Medea, soprano Anna Pirozzi talks to Harry Rose about her voice, her repertoire, and where her “second explosion of career” is taking her.

Hina Spani should have made it to the Met Hina Spani should have made it to the Met

A full century after her heyday, Argentine soprano Hina Spani still moves us thanks to her vivid recordings and the savants who have cherished and shared them.

The Pennsylvania Dutchman The Pennsylvania Dutchman

Verdi’s Stiffelio goes Amish in Vienna, featuring a stellar Luciano Ganci in the title role.

A favorite Verdi performance from Peter Russell A favorite Verdi performance from Peter Russell

The purely musical performance preserved here is thrilling, ratcheted to a higher intensity than the Deutsche Grammophon studio recording

Breaking up is hard to do Breaking up is hard to do

Before her one-woman La voix humaine with the New York Philharmonic, Barbara Hannigan talks to Kevin Ng about her career, her artistry, and whether or not there’s a voice on the other line.

Darkling I listen Darkling I listen

Golda Schultz casts darkness in an alluring light in an intimate recital at the New Orleans Opera Festival.

Hercules conquers Carnegie Hercules conquers Carnegie

William Guanbo Su and Ann Hallenberg are compelling in The English Concert’s presentation of Handel‘s Hercules at Carnegie Hall.

Otherwise occupied Otherwise occupied

Parterre Box features a performance from two belcantisti who would rather you not think about their political affiliations.

Married to their jobs Married to their jobs

Ahead of their opening in Don Carlo in Dallas tonight, Christopher Corwin chats with Nicole Car and Étienne Dupuis — and offers a special edition of Chris’s Cache!

Tra voi belle Tra voi belle

Following the announcement that she’ll make her Met debut next season, Grand Tier Grab Bag brings Italian soprano Erika Grimaldi to your attention with a duet from Manon Lescaut.

The 1946 <em>La traviata</em> is so overrated The 1946 <em>La traviata</em> is so overrated

For all his undeniable precision and discipline, I still find Toscanini’s tempi rushed and unyielding and his lack of rubato a chilly turnoff.

Was keinem in Worten ich künde Was keinem in Worten ich künde

In Modena, Teodor Currentzis‘s Ring ohne Worte foregoes words but not gimmickry.

Living the part Living the part

Diana Soviero chats with Roger Pines about six decades of performing, four decades of teaching, and how she’s handing the tradition off to the next generation.

The 2023 <em>Turandot</em> is so overrated The 2023 <em>Turandot</em> is so overrated

The recent highly hyped studio recording of Puccini’s Turandot left me greatly disappointed.

Past is prologue Past is prologue

Simon Boccanegra has never felt as foreboding or prophetic as it did at a recent performance at La Fenice.