Stone soup
“A case of histronic personality disorder a deux.”
Metropolitan Opera
The mothership and mecca of opera in America—and home base for Parterre Box.
Foolish love
The Met ushers out this wretched year and rings in the new with an elegant and effective new production of Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.
Wo ist Salome?
Kirsten Chambers will make her Met debut in the title role of this evening’s performance of Strauss’s Salome, replacing Patricia Racette, who is ill.
Conversion narrative
Blood-and-guts singing is the reason to see Nabucco at the Metropolitan Opera this season.
I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind
La Cieca hears that the dress rehearsal of Nabucco at the Met earlier today came to a halt when the statue of Baal burst into flames.
Mourning glory
I can think of no other role that provides the most unique promise of humiliation, and consequently the most opportunity for glory.
Chanson d’amour
Much like Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, which launched the Met’s 2016-2017 season, Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin is an opera about love and death.
Once, Moore, with feeling
When Sonja Frisell‘s Met production of Aïda was new and starred Oklahoma native Leona Mitchell, the similarly-intialled Latonia Moore was nine years old, singing in the choir of her pastor grandfather’s church.
Gone girl
Anna Netrebko‘s Manon was deeply unforgettable for its wide scope, control, and incredible virtuosity.
Battlemania
Miss Battle was greeted with a thunderous ovation befitting a beloved singer at the end of an illustrious career.
Alla pompa che si appresta meco, o schiava, assisterai
The celebrated ‘Triumph’ scene… borders on homoerotic porn.
Parterrian makes international news
Dallas native Roger Kaiser, identified as the guy who sprinkled a mentor’s ashes in the pit of the Met yesterday (and all that came after) is a parterre commenter.
Powder keg
A source close to the Met says tonight’s L’italiana in Algeri has been canceled in the wake of an incident this afternoon when “somebody dumped an unknown white powder into the pit following act 3″ of Guillaume Tell.
Rock, star
The centerpiece of Janácek’s Jenufa was the performance of Karita Mattila as the murderous Kostelnicka.
Mark, missed
Thoughtless direction stifled the epic drama.
Incomplete artwork
“He towered over the listless supporting cast like Daniel Day-Lewis guest-starring in a marionette show.”
Period piece
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production of L’Italiana in Algeri for the Met remains steadfastly ignorant of postcolonial theory.
No view from the bridge
Mariusz Trelinski unveiled a rather gloomy, though musically satisfying, Tristan und Isolde.
September song
“Paul Appleby will sing the role of Don Ottavio in this season’s September and October performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, replacing Rolando Villazón, who has withdrawn due to illness.”
Fixture
“When you’re really quiet, you can hear the tinkling when they stop.”
You’ve got to taste all the fruit
The current iteration of that altogether necessary resource the Met Future Wiki currently lists a repertoire of 32(!) programs intended for the Met’s 2017-2018 season, which clearly is absurd.
Here he comes to save the day
La Cieca called it, mostly: Yannick Nézet-Séguin will the the Met’s new music director, taking on full official duties in the 2020-2021 season.
Trauermarsch
I can scarcely remember a performance where so many conflicting thoughts raced through my mind as happened Thursday night during the Met Orchestra’s “bleeding chunks” of Wagner’s Ring at Carnegie Hall.
Der Snuggiekavalier
The Met’s cobranding efforts are really beginning to pay off.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).