The beautiful stage is empty The beautiful stage is empty

Two productions at the Aix-en-Provence festival shared one look.

Imogenary beings Imogenary beings

Will Crutchfield’s Bel Canto at Caramoor program of concert operas concluded with a bang on Saturday with Bellini’s first success, Il Pirata.

Midsummer gladness Midsummer gladness

Gone are the halcyon days of tradition and ritual.

Leaving blood on the shirt Leaving blood on the shirt

The debate over live transmissions of opera to cinemas in HD isn’t going to go away.

Guilt, edged Guilt, edged

If Darius Milhaud took a risk in adapting La Mère Coupable as an opera, it wasn’t the quirky, atonal style he used for his score.

For a few dolors more For a few dolors more

LoftOpera’s accurately but unpromisingly named Pergolesi & Vivaldi stumbled rather than soared.

The word is not enough The word is not enough

So, um, I guess we can agree that words are more important than music?

Triple header Triple header

I reckon marketing a sex-themed opera in Brooklyn should be like selling bacon-flavored froyo in Vermont.

Monday in the park with mike Monday in the park with mike

From up close, the miked opera singer can be a bit tough to take.

And three for Mahler And three for Mahler

A poster outside Carnegie Hall proclaimed “Mahler Well Met” and to some degree it proved to be true.

Arrivederci, Romany! Arrivederci, Romany!

In the same season that Manhattan School of Music revived The Gypsy Baron, Riverside Theater around the corner is the site of Amore Opera’s “Season of Gypsy Operas.”

Das Süsses Mädel and the Boy from Berlin Das Süsses Mädel and the Boy from Berlin

Diana Damrau has chosen for her new Erato recital disc Grand Opera 11 high-flying showpieces from ten operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer.

Fixing the fan Fixing the fan

Cio-Cio and Carmen: what do you do with two tragic heroines who typify not just the sexist clichés, but also the soupy exotic fixations, of the Old-World West?

Serenade Serenade

The Broad Stage presented Joseph Calleja in their Celebrity Opera Series May 10 with a concert called A Tribute to Mario Lanza.

Cock of the walk Cock of the walk

Zolotoy pyetushok (translated as The Golden Cockerel in English, is best known in these parts as Le Coq d’Or.

The frailty of everything earthly The frailty of everything earthly

If everything you see is great, you are either new to opera or chronically easy to please.

Golden but not delicious Golden but not delicious

The cultiest of cult musicals, an All-American take on the Iliad and the Odyssey, the spectacularly witty Golden Apple of John Latouche (words) and Jerome Moross (music), opened Off Broadway in 1953 to some acclaim.

Fifty shades of gold Fifty shades of gold

Anticipation of events like the Metropolitan Opera’s 50th Anniversary bash turns me back into the newly opera-soused kid who begged his parents to let him watch the highlights of the Bing Gala on the family color television.

Keeping the faith Keeping the faith

Going into Washington National Opera’s final presentation of the season, Madama Butterfly, I feared that I might be geisha’d out.

From the sublime to the stentorian From the sublime to the stentorian

W.C. Fields used to have a funny trope about in show business you should never work with children or animals. To that list should perhaps be added the soprano Anna Netrebko.

Elements of style Elements of style

Antonio Literes, a boy soprano from Majorca, had, we may presume, friends in high places.

Back to the beach Back to the beach

Were La Rondine an IQ test, I’d be in trouble.

The Riel thing The Riel thing

By virtue of its subject matter and the auspicious occasion of its commissioning, Louis Riel was destined to be iconic.

Panache room Panache room

“Roberto Alagna has found his most congenial and emotionally moving role yet: Cyrano de Bergerac.”