I’m sorry to say that I have seen lots of her on TV, mostly PBS, post-retirement as an administrator and commentator, and I remember her as arrogant, condescending and just unbearable. Of course,...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 1 minute ago
I’ve never heard the whole broadcast but Verrett’s performance of that version of the aria is one of the most astounding things she ever did.
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 25 minutes ago
I believe there were two broadcasts because I hAve heard performances with two different tenors.
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 37 minutes ago
Polly was also originally to sing the 'Salomonsong'. But the gestation of the work seems to have been quite chaotic... 'During the frantic final weeks, as the surviving rehearsal...
But let's not forget that Sills was a touring opera singing in her late teens so that by the time she took on the Queens, she'd already been performing full time for 30 years or so. Per...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 40 minutes ago
Well there we disagree, or at least to an extent. I love his writing for New York Magazine. I find that Met guide to opera book in general all of things you’ve said. He’s hardly the worst offender...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 43 minutes ago
I’ll need to revisit that recording, I really only remember Verrett. I’m not really up on the Tudor Queen operas. For some reason Bolena is the role where the lack of tonal richness bugs me most,...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 44 minutes ago
Not just a grump, but unsatisfying as a critic. In the Met guide to opera on record, his reviews are pat, generalized and lacking in specifics.
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 44 minutes ago
I knew about Caterina Cornaro, but not that it was going to be a co-production with Madrid. Let's hope it's not put in a drawer for 5+ years like so many other Teatro Real...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 47 minutes ago
And the Met broadcast of "L'assedio" - Verrett stole the show, as it were, with an absolutely hair-raising account of the aria.
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 49 minutes ago
Jenny also sang it in the Richard Forman production.
I personally find the Anna Bolena, absolutely complete, overall in casting and Sills's performance, one of the finest. Sills lets us know from the sortita, which includes the second verse of...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 52 minutes ago
I think Weill will always win. The text is not Brecht's best. I've seen four or five productions and despite a wonderful score, it's rarely much fun, so I am very sorry I had to miss...
PCally has it at 10 years and I have heard 5 (from Bonynge). I don't think it was 15. She stopped at 51 but she started at 21 (ignoring the G&S and other earlier stuff), already singing...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 57 minutes ago
That's the impression of her video release. She comes out smiling broadly in a white ball gown, in a manner befitting a debutante at a cotillion. Too, I wondered: why her own red hair for...
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 1 hour ago
Too bad there were only two performances. I kept wondering how much Curtis spent renting the Forrest Theater. And boy was it great to see Candide there, even if the singers were amplified. It had...
Yeah - I pretty much ignore the videos. They’re too late and she’s very coarse in them.
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 1 hour ago
'Although Lotte Lenya had sung "Pirate Jenny" in the 1931 film version and was certainly identified with the song, in 1928 it had been performed by Polly as her wedding song in the...
That broadcast was the first time (that I am aware of) that I heard Verrett and, other than the fact that we were hearing Sills from the Met, she's really all I remember of it.
A favorite Donizetti performance from Parpignol · 1 hour ago
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
“The island is only small / But the fairies inhabiting it / Welcome us all”
That means you—and your even more significant other—should you win this pair of seats. Enter now »
“The island is only small / But the fairies inhabiting it / Welcome us all”
That means you—and your even more significant other—should you win this pair of seats. Enter now »
Yannick leads The Philadelphia Orchestra, superstars Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton, and world-class singers in a rare concert performance that reveals every detail and nuance of this richly harmonic score. Experience the passion and cold-hearted revenge of this scandalous opera. Get tickets now!
Yannick leads The Philadelphia Orchestra, superstars Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton, and world-class singers in a rare concert performance that reveals every detail and nuance of this richly harmonic score. Experience the passion and cold-hearted revenge of this scandalous opera. Get tickets now!
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