A friend who frequents these pages recently turned me on to a Donizetti cantata that I had never heard of: his setting of the speech of Dante‘s Conte Ugolino.
Leyla Gencer cussing out Shirley Verrett’s Elisabetta so convincingly the audience spontaneously breaks out in applause and bravas.
In 1972, when I was 12 years old, my mother took me to the Salzburg Festival.
One of my favorite scenes from Donizetti is the Act I finale from Anna Bolena.
La Favorita is my favorita. Whether it’s Favorita or Favorite, I love them both.
Fiorenza Cossotto in her prime had few equals, particularly in the Italian repertoire
Donizetti wrote so much great music, it’s hard to single out a favorite opera, or even a preferred aria!
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
