I have been remiss in posting works of important 20th century composers, tops among them Hanz Werner Henze, a name which sends most opera fans running for the exits.

Let’s all listen to the American debut of Ghena Dimitrova in this 1981 performance of Ernani from Dallas.

Piotr Beczala, Soile Isokoski and Kwangchul Youn star in this 2009 performance of Faust from the Wiener Staatsoper, idiomatically conducted by Bertrand de Billy.

Let’s go back 45 years to a kinder, gentler Bayreuth with a 1970 performance of Der fliegende Holländer starring Donald McIntyre and Leonie Rysanek.

Bohuslav Martinu’s The Greek Passion has had a rough life.

Few things in opera are more exciting than a beloved young singer taking on a new role, especially in a new Fach.

This week I am sending you something a bit more bucolic than usual: a traversal of the Golden Age of the Canadian Parlor Song by Canadian diva Mary Lou Fallis.

When John Adams’ A Flowering Tree had its world premiere in Vienna in 2006, critical reaction from the Austrian and German press was mixed-to-negative.

Here’s to the Ladies who sing Lieder! Aren’t they a gas? This week, I am pleased to bring you unique performances of repertoire warhorses sung by three legends.

I can’t think of another 20th century opera which has grown so fast in popularity so long after its composition than Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.

Theater an der Wien did justice to Bizet earlier this season with a cast starring Diana Damrau, Dmitry Korchak, and Nathan Gunn.

Mahagonny is one of my two favorite operas (care to guess the other?), but it’s damned hard to find a well-sung performance (with opera singers, not Broadway divas) without cuts.

While everyone is still buzzing about this year’s Salzburg Easter Festival, I was visited by the Ghost of Easter Past.

Klaus Florian Vogt is a singer oft discussed at parterre pox, but few have had the opportunity to hear him, especially those in the USA.

No surprises this week: back to normal with what is perhaps the world’s most favorite opera: Puccini’s La bohème.

After the reception to last week’s post, no more drowned queens for you! 

Was he listening to a lot of Meyerbeer?

Once again, your alte Jungfer is pleased to offer a performance by a polarizing diva: it seems that parterriani either love her or loathe her.

As the world knows, Anja Harteros dropped out of this series of Don Carlo for a stab at Aïda in Rome. Illness sidelined Ramón Vargas from the title roles in both Don Carlo and Werther. While Wiener Staatsoper has been plagued with cancellations all season (even substituting L’elisir d’amore for La Juive at the last…

“Go while the going is good.  Knowing when to leave may be the smartest thing anyone can learn,” sings Fran in Promises, Promises, the 1968 Hal David/Burt Bacharach musical which apparently Edita Gruberová has never seen.