A passing mood A passing mood

Mascagni‘s Zanetto, a slight, Renaissance scene, gets a new recording from the Berlin Opera Group. 

Lucky those people who are so anxious to believe Lucky those people who are so anxious to believe

A high-drama Vanessa by the Boston Symphony Orchestra offers something to believe in.

Now, voyager Now, voyager

The miracle workers at Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera have published another premiere recording of a work that I’ve long heard of but never heard: Dominick Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe.

The cheese stands alone The cheese stands alone

Strike Up the Band! cried the brothers Gershwin (and book-writers George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind) in the first of their three satirical, vaguely political operettas—sort of jazz Gilbert & Sullivan—that they dreamed up in the late 1920s.

Rachmaninoff three ways Rachmaninoff three ways

A troika of operas by Rachmaninoff: Aleko , The Miserly Knight and Francesca da Rimini , courtesy of Odyssey Opera.

Queen’s evidence Queen’s evidence

Trove Thursday’s belated contribution to last weekend’s Platinum Jubilee is a broadcast from Aldeburgh of Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana with Christine Brewer and Tom Randle as Elizabeth and Essex, an opera which premiered 69 years ago yesterday.

Il corsaro Il corsaro

Michael Fabiano in one of his specialties as the dashing hero of Il corsaro torn between Tamara Wilson and Nicole Cabell.

Bloody Mary, Hold the Pepper Bloody Mary, Hold the Pepper

Come ye addicts of melody! After long eclipse, Bel Canto shines again!

The long listen The long listen

A conversation with maestro Gil Rose of Odyssey Opera.

Sweet dreams Sweet dreams

Bard SummerScape’s concert staging of Die Tote Stadt emerged triumphant thanks to Clay Hilley and Sara Jakubiak.

Pearl of wisdom Pearl of wisdom

Odyssey Opera’s Ägyptische Helena was a beautifully executed production of a flawed opera.

A Lesbian in distress A Lesbian in distress

Zelmira, a work of 1822, was the last of the eight operas Rossini composed for the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, then the largest opera house in Italy—perhaps in Europe.

Djinn and tonic Djinn and tonic

Odyssey Opera in Boston, which loves to open its season with a concert performance of some forgotten work, gave La Reine de Saba in Jordan Hall Saturday night.

What’s at stake for a soul on fire? What’s at stake for a soul on fire?

Norman Dello Joio, who was knocking about winning prizes for film and TV scores, composed The Trial at Rouen, his second opera on the subject, for NBC.

Allowing the birds to nest in your hair Allowing the birds to nest in your hair

In the seventies and eighties Dominick Argento (who turned ninety this year) was one of the most oft-performed of American opera composers.

Triumphal Arc Triumphal Arc

Tchaikovsky’s Orleánskaia Djeva (The Maid of Orleans) kicked off Odyssey’s Opera’s fifth season

A Frabjous Day: The Siege of Calais A Frabjous Day: The Siege of Calais

The turntable set looks much the same from any angle: gutted concrete tenements and perilous alleys, instantly recognizable as a scene of urban guerrilla mayhem.

Catch a falling tsar Catch a falling tsar

You’d think by now I’d know better than to make snap judgments about an opera or a singer—but apparently not.

Home brew Home brew

An extraordinarily rich variety of opera happens locally, under the umbrella of New York Opera Fest.

Ezio said than done Ezio said than done

Ezio was an inspired choice for Boston’s feisty Odyssey Opera to open its “When In Rome” festival.

In Bruges In Bruges

They say that Boston, despite many cultural distinctions, ain’t no opera town, and for some decades—generations?—this has been true. But tides of change will break, even on the shores of the Hub.