New fashioned wedding New fashioned wedding

After the success of its Don Giovanni in 2011, Lincoln Center invited Iván Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra to return for the Mostly Mozart Festival premiere (!) of the first of Mozart-da Ponte’s three masterpieces Le Nozze di Figaro late Sunday afternoon at the Rose Theater.

Divas merrily on high Divas merrily on high

Cecilia Bartoli and Joyce DiDonato are not the only ladies who have recorded recitals this year featuring music from the 17th and 18th centuries.

A boozy short leave A boozy short leave

After 23 years, the Queen of Carthage has finally made it to Manhattan.

Brit star! would I were steadfast as thou art! Brit star! would I were steadfast as thou art!

Rule Britannia? Often during the Olympics that famous number from Thomas Arne’s 1740 Alfred echoed in my ears.

Room for improvement Room for improvement

It’s hard to think of a rare work by a great composer more tailor-made for a twenty-first century reexamination than Mozart’s Il Sogno di Scipione.

Rock stars

Scanning this summer’s Mostly Mozart schedule one wondered if New York really needed another Don Giovanni right now?  And one with a non-starry cast where the best-known name was the Commendatore, Kristinn Sigmundsson? 

Not enough, too soon

While major stars like René Pape and Piotr Beczala had to wait until they were over 40 to record a solo aria CD, Julia Lezhneva has just done her first—and she’s only twenty-one!  After a drought, CD companies are issuing a surprising number of debut recitals; Nino Machaidze, Olga Peretyatko, Mojca Erdmann, and Aleksandra Kurzak…