As much as I adore Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, I fear her days are numbered. In a world of elevated awareness of how cultures are misappropriated, to say nothing of how women are compartmentalized and exploited, the pillars of this opera’s antiquated romanticism seem sure to buckle. Read more »
The conclusion of our Fanciulla del West video overview in three parts looks at a trio of performances from the 2010s. Read more »
Well here we are, beloveds, still swathed in the warm glow of the Leonard Bernstein centennial. Box sets abound like bunnies in a hutch. Read more »
parterre box, “the most essential blog in opera” (New York Times), is now booking advertising for autumn 2019. Email us at advertising@parterre.com and be sure to ask about our deep not-for-profit discounts!
Robert Carsen has given Peter Gelb two of the greatest successes of his tenure. Yet despite being one of the most in-demand opera directors in the world (does any other director have as many productions on the world’s opera stages?), his route to the Met has been as a runner-up. Read more »
Even those of us who consider Guillaume Tell Rossini’s greatest opera understand why it has not been his most frequently staged.
Psychology is encoded in the composer’s vocal lines more than his librettist’s words.
C-major has made available the first DVD/Blu-ray of Franco Faccio’s Amleto.
The second DVD/Blu-ray with Plácido Domingo as Verdi’s other beleaguered Doge, Francesco in I due Foscari.
Cher Public