I shall be released I shall be released

Welcome, beloveds, to the Jessye Norman Memorial Museum. I’ll be the docent for your tour today.

You must believe in spring You must believe in spring

Chris’s Cache ends March with Berlioz’s exquisite Shakespeare adaptation Béatrice et Bénédict because it’s just the best thing to listen to on a spring day.

“You must change your life” “You must change your life”

This was a wonderful concert because MIchael Tilson Thomas approached every moment of it with an air of expansiveness and gratitude.

Pearls of great Price Pearls of great Price

Anticipating Leontyne Price’s 96th birthday on February 10, Chris’s Cache presents the American diva in an epic collection of live performances.

Dad flawed Dad flawed

Du Yun is the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of Angel’s Bone. Her new opera, In Our Daughter’s Eyes, a one-act monodrama for bass-baritone and an orchestra of six, opened the current tenth Prototype Festival, in a performance at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, starring erstwhile Met regular Nathan Gunn.

I had too much to dream last night I had too much to dream last night

Trove Thursday previews next week’s BBC Proms presentation of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with a 2008 broadcast conducted by Colin Davis with Sarah Connolly, Ben Heppner and Gerald Finley.

The Multiverse of Morley The Multiverse of Morley

A Trove Thursday Mega-Post © featuring the wonderful American soprano Erin Morley in Orff’s Carmina Burana and Richard Strauss’s Brentano Lieder, plus extended live excerpts from Handel’s Orlando, Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots.

Everyone’s gone to the moon Everyone’s gone to the moon

The Met’s recent Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra combo left me wanting more and more Richard Strauss, so Trove Thursday offers a complete Capriccio with Jonas Kaufmann (his one-and-only Flamand) and Christopher Maltman vying for Soile Isokoski.

To the night To the night

Minutes into “An die Nacht,” the first song Friday night, I realized how much I’d missed being enveloped in that seductive Straussian combination of a soprano (or two or three) rising higher and higher over a surging orchestra.

Midwinter marriage Midwinter marriage

Despite having lost its announced Cherubino, conductor and Count (the latter in the midst of rehearsals), the season premiere of Le Nozze di Figaro Saturday afternoon proved to be one of the most enjoyable Met Mozart performances I’ve attended in ages.

Behind the mask Behind the mask

Un ballo in maschera—but instead of a tragedy, an opera buffa—and in Danish?

Get ready for the judgment day Get ready for the judgment day

In anticipation of the Met’s reopening performance on September 11, another serving of pandemic-hoarding arrives on Trove Thursday with 10 rare live performances of the Verdi Requiem’s concluding “Libera me.”

In memoriam Pauline Tinsley In memoriam Pauline Tinsley

Pauline Tinsley, who died May 11, made few commercial recordings; Trove Thursday offers the thrilling English soprano in excerpts over nearly two decades from nine works ranging from Handel to Richard Strauss.

Shining through Shining through

Trove Thursday celebrates Christa Ludwig with live excerpts from 1955 through 1982.

Significant mother Significant mother

As Phaedra’s tragic, all-consuming passion for her stepson Hippolytus has fascinated artists for centuries, Trove Thursday offers two of its lesser-known musical settings: Pizzetti’s opera Fedra with Régine Crespin and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson performing the cantata Phaedra, Britten’s final vocal work.

Prophet center Prophet center

Trove Thursday couldn’t wait until Passover to offer Mendelssohn’s Elijah featuring two of my favorite singers, Gabriela Benacková and José van Dam, joined by Florence Quivar, Francisco Araiza and Thomas Moser.

A soldier’s play A soldier’s play

On this day in 1959 Alban Berg‘s Wozzeck had its Metropolitan Opera premiere.

The perfect match The perfect match

If only she’d been able to sing more than 10 minutes of Bjork’s music!

Speak loudly Speak loudly

Do we do what we have to do? Or do we have to do what we do?

You tread on my dreams You tread on my dreams

Wednesday night’s New York Philharmonic concert was a high-stakes performance for a number of reasons.

First and foremost First and foremost

They say you never forget your first.

Wait and see Wait and see

Erwartung and Bluebeard’s Castle returned to Lincoln Center Thursday night in a musically scintillating if theatrically mild double-bill by the New York Philharmonic.

All I cared about was Bess All I cared about was Bess

Opera’s latest superstar, Angel Blue, in a compleat and enthralling portrayal, gloriously sung and rivetingly acted.

Aestival body Aestival body

Broadway star Kelli O’Hara stepped out of her comfort zone.