On this day in 1946 the Metropolitan Opera presented La Gioconda on tour in Chicago.
If April is the cruelest month, it may be that spring’s arrival brings far too many things to do and see.
Old opera productions at the end of their performing life can be sad affairs.
While Charles III’s coronation (with Harry but without Meghan and Fergie) commences in London on Saturday, the party started early last month at Carnegie Hall when the Orchestra of St. Luke’s joined by La Chappelle de Québec performed Handel’s gloriously celebratory Coronation Anthems which were composed for a 1727 crowning.
At all of these vocal contests, including this one, I find myself fascinated and perplexed by the same question: What exactly are the judges looking for?
On this day in 1944, the Metropolitan Opera, on tour in Chicago, presented Tosca.
Eagerly awaiting Met May Mozart Madness, Chris’s Cache presents a starry quintet of the master’s operas not being done next month.
To paraphrase Terence Blanchard’s Champion, what makes an opera an opera?
I wish more sopranos programmed recitals like Fatma Said does.
Welcome, beloveds, to the Jessye Norman Memorial Museum. I’ll be the docent for your tour today.
On this day in 1975 soprano Magda Olivero made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Tosca.
This was by far my most satisfying experience with Pelléas et Mélisande for a multitude of reasons and I encourage anyone who’s even mildly curious to find their way to the Music Center for a very rich experience.
Here’s an update for those keeping up with the Lohengrin casting sweepstakes at the Met.
The current Met revival of Der Rosenkavalier, while not perfect, has much to feel joyful and excited about.
On this day in 1981 the Metropolitan Opera telecast its new and unremarkable production of La traviata.
Richard Strauss’ “Bucolic Tragedy in One Act” Daphne is one of his most beautiful and most frustrating works.
On this day in 1992 the Metropolitan Opera presented a [disastrous] new production of Elektra.
Angela Meade, reportedly flown in at the very last minute to take on the role of Norma, absolutely triumphed, pulling out all the stops to deliver a commanding performance that should, indeed, go down in history.
In Richard Strauss’s Arabella, the heroine is consumed with finding the right man—der Richtige—but who is the right Arabella?
There’s nothing unusual about casting a woman in Solomon‘s titular role.
Verdi’s Falstaff is a brilliantly written opera: funny, with a complex ability to operate across minutely shifting registers of farce and lyricism. It needs, ideally, a production and cast capable of executing both comedy and drama, irony and sincerity—often concurrently. In its current Met revival, happily, Falstaff has everything it needs.
The program for Jasmine Rice LaBeija’s concert as part of Works & Process at the Guggenheim on Wednesday, March 8 read a bit like a curriculum vitae.
I can’t imagine anything more anxiety-inducing than being put in at last-minute to sing a role in a high-profile production at the Met.
On this day in 1987 the Met raised the curtain on Franco Zeffirelli‘s production of Turandot.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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