Aryeh ready for a miracle?
Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen shows that he’s at the top of a crowded pack of countertenors in two recent New York performances with Philharmonia Baroque.
Metropolitan Opera
Samson et Dalila
Clay Hilley, Aigul Akhmetshina, and Quinn Kelsey star in the first Saturday Matinée Broadcast of the season, live from New York
Streaming and discussion start Dec 5 at 12:00 PM
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Hit me with your best shot
Dmitri Tcherniakov‘s production of Der Freischütz in Munich may fire a few blanks, but the musicians are all on target.
The juice is on the loose
The bonkers, bewildering Die ägyptische Helena begets a suitably lush musical and creative treatment at Bard SummerScape.
Sealing the deal
The Bayerische Staatsoper’s summer festival wound down with Lotte de Beer’s darkly effective production of Gounod ’sFaust.
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.
By Mister Snow
110 comments
To the moon and back
Yuval Sharon‘s production of The Excursions of Mr. Brouček shoots for the moon — and lands somewhat limply on Lake Constance.
Dimitri Mitropoulos was a great opera conductor
Whether an opera by Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, or Berg, Dimitri Mitropoulos brought to the podium a total understanding and love for each score he touched.
By Moe Rear
56 comments
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.
Seiji Ozawa was a great opera conductor
I first experienced the magic of Seiji Ozawa in 1972 when I was 12 years old.
By TildyDiva
43 comments
Fausto Cleva was a great opera conductor
Fausto Cleva, in this glorious Fanciulla from the old Met, demonstrates all the great skills of opera conducting
Giuseppe Patanè was a great opera conductor
I think Patanè did far more than just hold it together: he did full honor to Verdi.
By Peter Russell
26 comments
Extravagant minimalism
Ahead of his new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten, Barrie Kosky chats with Kevin Ng in Aix about pretty much everything — except the details of his new Frau.
Aegean in place
Greek National Opera’s Medea in the ancient theater at Epidaurus is an intermittently rewarding exercise in nostalgia.
There are no dead
John Danaher pays an operatic tribute to the writings of James McCourt, an author who captured the spirit of opera as queer and dangerous like no other.
Mahler if ya hear me
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, leading the Met Orchestra, and Joyce DiDonato continue their exploration of Mahler at Carnegie Hall.
Ebe Stignani and Anita Cerquetti should have made it to the Met
Subtlety is for cowards, say the blazing Anita Cerquetti and the blaring Ebe Stignani.
Janet Baker should have made it to the Met
The divine Dame Janet Baker never sang at the Metropolitan, sadly for American audiences.
By Darby Fegan
88 comments
Super rich kids
Wolf Trap Opera triumphs in a fizzy, fun Cenerentola.
Leyla Gencer should have made it to the Met
Leyla Gencer had a long European career but never sang at the Met.
By Arrigo
140 comments
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.
Rubber soul
Video Artists International brings us back to a time when opera was carried over the airwaves by great voices—and a tire company.
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.
By Peter Russell
64 comments
Anna Caterina Antonacci should have made it to the Met
The one who got away was Anna Caterina Antonacci, a thrilling performer.
By Last Castrato
68 comments
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).