Audiences expect miracles
Following a review by Christopher Corwin, figures from in and around the box react to Pablo Larraín‘s new film Maria
Italy
Duet to me one more time
Patrick Mack reviews yet another Puccini album from Jonas Kaufmann
And suddenly that name will never be the same
Christopher Corwin reviews Pablo Larraín‘s Maria
A Requiem for the Country?
Michael Steinberg on Riccardo Muti, fascism, and who speaks through the collective voice of the Verdi Requiem.
Thoughts on Il trovatore: recordings
As for complete recordings of Il trovatore, which was discussed at some length last week, there are at least 200 of them, both studio and live.
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.
When the moon hits your eye
On this day in 1965 soprano Mirella Freni and tenor Gianni Raimondi made their Metropolitan Opera debuts in La bohème
Star of the shoji screen
My vision may have been slightly blurry at the end.
It’s going to be a lovely party
Overall, this was a superb achievement and a thrilling season opener for the San Francisco Opera.
Found in mint condition
Only by knowing what went on around the great composers is it possible to truly understand why they are great and why their operas have come down to us (and why dozens of other titles have been left behind).
If you’re going through hell
The rule that governs Dante’s Inferno is called the “contrapasso” – that every sinner is given a punishment in poetic proportion to their crime.
Christmas in July
Not too long ago, Benjamin Bernheim gave an interview to Opéra Magazine in which he stated “Je ne suis pas un top model.”
I would they had changed voices too!
Chris’s Cache follows up its Gounod R&J installment with a widely varied quintet of additional Romeos and Juliets
Four frightened people
As an opera fanatic who was baptized by the blood of Leontyne Price, the Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi appeared on my radar fairly soon after I started delving into the operatic canon.
Thoughts on Andrea Chénier: the others
There were, of course, other Chénier recordings beyond the truly great ones…
Thoughts on Andrea Chénier: the greats
Quite simply, the singers are not around today who are steeped in the tradition of verismo, or for that matter the later part of the 19th century.
Thoughts on Andrea Chénier: the opera
Doing my research for these “thoughts” ahead of a starry revival in London that opened yesterday, I came across the following review for the Opening Night of the 1962-63 Season.
I’m a stranger here myself
In 1982 I saw Turandot at the San Francisco Opera, the year after I became an opera fan, and it was my first live opera.
Come to the record store in old Peking
In the lead up to LA Opera’s mounting of Turandot on May 18th (hooray!) I thought I’d touch on some of my favorite recordings and new re-masters I’ve discovered. I have them all.
Je sens une force nouvelle
Chris’s Cache offers three striking interpretations of another Gluck masterpiece Alceste from Janet Baker, Anna Caterina Antonacci, and Véronique Gens
No strings attached
Madama Butterfly is the opera of the moment.
Breaching the walls
On this day in 1975 Rossini‘s Siege of Corinth had its American stage premiere at the Metropolitan Opera
Decadent genealogies
Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot are, in their different ways, the final decadent flowering of a musical tradition at its twilight.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).