Some filth or dementia from Remko Jas Some filth or dementia from Remko Jas

To make a success of the Empress in Frau ohne Schatten, it is not enough to be a fine singer and a great actress.

Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor

I trust, fellow Parterre readers, that we can all agree that Riccardo Muti is a great opera conductor.

Dimitri Mitropoulos was a great opera conductor 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.

Seiji Ozawa was a great opera conductor Seiji Ozawa was a great opera conductor

I first experienced the magic of Seiji Ozawa in 1972 when I was 12 years old.

Herbert von Karajan was a great opera conductor Herbert von Karajan was a great opera conductor

He has conducted some of my favorite opera recordings.

Kathryn the great Kathryn the great

Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.

The Grand Salzburg Hotel The Grand Salzburg Hotel

A.J. Goldmann on the Salzburg Festival’s revolving doors, both in its administration and in its delectable production of Il viaggio a Reims.

A favorite Verdi performance from pfeliks A favorite Verdi performance from pfeliks

I was a huge fan of Anna Netrebko.

Frieze frame Frieze frame

Shirin Neshat‘s Aïda in Paris is a typical instance of what happens when an artist is brought in to direct an opera.

Nothing makes me feel better than the 1966 Salzburg Festival <em>Nozze</em> Nothing makes me feel better than the 1966 Salzburg Festival <em>Nozze</em>

This performance truly “never fails to lift my mood.”

Maria Stuarda Maria Stuarda

A performance recorded earlier this month in Salzburg with Lisette Oropesa and Kate Lindsey

The Aix factor The Aix factor

This summer’s festival, taking place amid record high temperatures and in the wake of its artistic director, Pierre Audi, featured a disquietingly zeigeisty focus on sexual violence.

Walking through the valley of death Walking through the valley of death

Peter Sellars‘s triple bill of Viennese modernism featuring Erwartung and a concert performance of The Raft of the Medusa stare down death at the Salzburg Festival

Maria Stuarda Maria Stuarda

Lisette Oropesa and Kate Lindsey star in a live video broadcast from Salzburg

Giulio Cesare in Egitto Giulio Cesare in Egitto

A live broadcast from the Salzburg Festival

Three ages of woman Three ages of woman

Asmik Grigorian’s scorching turn in Il trittico in Paris has Nigel Wilkinson wondering, ‘what is it that makes Americans so weepy?’

Promising young women Promising young women

Ahead of her return to the Met, soprano Corinne Winters chats with Kevin Ng about her repertoire, overcoming biases about her voice type, and how she plans to play “energetic, young women” as long as she can.

A favorite Donizetti performance from James Grant A favorite Donizetti performance from James Grant

In 1972, when I was 12 years old, my mother took me to the Salzburg Festival.

<em>The Women</em> are like that <em>The Women</em> are like that

A stylish and funny Così fan tutte at LA Opera is a pretty glam affair, according to Patrick Mack.

Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’ Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’

Eli Jacobson inaugurates parterre box’s new “Perspectives on the Aria” feature with a deep dive into Leonore’s “Abscheulicher!” from Beethoven’s Fidelio which returns to the Metropolitan Opera tomorrow with the Met’s current dramatic soprano star Lise Davidsen as Leonore.

It’ll all be Auger It’ll all be Auger

A perfect meeting of voice with composer occurred when Arleen Auger took part in the rediscovery of early works by Mozart.

New kids from the bloc New kids from the bloc

If song recitals by opera stars Piotr Beczala and Asmik Grigorian sometimes came up short, Semyon Bychkov’s powerful rendition of the Glagolitic Mass instantly became one of the year’s highlights.

My Verona My Verona

It surprises even me how some operas have eluded me in live performance even after lo, these many years. One of them is Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

Thoughts on <em>Il trovatore</em>: recordings Thoughts on <em>Il trovatore</em>: recordings

As for complete recordings of Il trovatore, which was discussed at some length last week, there are at least 200 of them, both studio and live.