Lede buried Lede buried

They were there, opera insiders said, because Chelsea Clinton is a friend of the tenor Vittorio Grigolo, who was playing the Chevalier, Manon’s true love.”

on April 27, 2015 at 1:40 PM
Ham and ex Ham and ex

Our Own JJ was only semi-amused.

on April 27, 2015 at 9:45 AM
Sometimes just pretzels and beer Sometimes just pretzels and beer

Our Own JJ crunches the numbers at the Met and LoftOpera in the New York Observer.

on April 08, 2015 at 9:30 AM
Out of the frying pan Out of the frying pan

Met press office: Salvatore Cordella will sing Edgardo in this evening’s performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, replacing Joseph Calleja, who is ill.

on April 07, 2015 at 1:10 PM
Keep watching the skies! Keep watching the skies!

As you may have heard, cher public, Joseph Calleja canceled last night’s Lucia performance at the Met after the first act. So… well, see the headline above.

on April 05, 2015 at 8:00 AM
Oh, de’ verdi anni miei Oh, de’ verdi anni miei

“The Met’s revival of Verdi’s Ernani Friday night was every inch a tragic opera, though without being grand in any way. Its grisliest calamity was not the one the composer devised but rather one the production’s star, Plácido Domingo, brought on himself.”

on March 26, 2015 at 10:05 AM
Tale of the tape Tale of the tape

As the Deutsche Grammophon producer for the 1972 Metropolitan Opera Carmen recording, I was delighted to read Patrick Mack’s review of its recent re-release on a surround-sound/stereo CD set.

on March 25, 2015 at 12:25 PM
All futures great and small All futures great and small

The Metropolitan Opera yesterday afternoon was an uncommonly cozy place, as the auditorium was packed to the rafters with friends and family members of the nine National Council Audition Finalists.

on March 23, 2015 at 7:21 AM
The kids are not all right The kids are not all right

“’They’re young… they’re in love… and they kill people’ goes the tagline for the 1968 film Bonnie and Clyde, but the slogan could apply almost as well to the outlaw pair at the center of the Metropolitan Opera’s white-hot revival of Massenet’s Manon.”

on March 18, 2015 at 9:14 AM
Spring can really hang you up the most Spring can really hang you up the most

Zeljko Lucic has withdrawn from his spring Met engagements due to illness.

on March 17, 2015 at 6:17 PM
Opera snooze Opera snooze

That much-anticipated and much-feared “exposé” about Peter Gelb and the Met? Almost completely rehash.

on March 16, 2015 at 8:54 AM
Je sens une pure flamme Je sens une pure flamme

Our Own JJ‘s take on the Massenet will not appear until next week, but for now you are invited to make do with Zachary Woolfe‘s rave in the New York Times.

on March 10, 2015 at 6:22 PM
“The cold bothered me, anyway” “The cold bothered me, anyway”

“It was the chilliest opening night at the Met in years on Monday—barely 15 degrees when the curtain went up on the company premiere of La Donna del Lago.

on February 19, 2015 at 7:37 PM
Ebben… domani Ebben… domani

The Met announces its 2015-2016 season tomorrow at 1:00 PM, cher public, and La Cieca knows you will all be here to discuss and dissect

on February 17, 2015 at 3:14 PM
One for the woad One for the woad

Ellen Douglas finds herself in Act II of Rossini’s La Donna del Lago in the far from unusual operatic position of having her love claimed by two impassioned tenors in the bel canto version of a macho drag race.

on February 17, 2015 at 7:37 AM
Be my guest! Be my guest!

James Levine turns 72 this year. Even though his health has improved considerably in the past year and he may continue to conduct for a decade or more, it seems inevitable that he will step down as the Met’s Music Director sometime in the next few years to assume the role of Conductor Laureate.

on February 16, 2015 at 9:00 AM
News has a kind of mystery News has a kind of mystery

It’s that time of the year when the Met does its season announcement, cher public.

on February 12, 2015 at 10:32 AM
Singular sensation Singular sensation

“If Mozart had only had the sense to write Don Giovanni in a… single-performer format, last Wednesday’s revival at the Met would have been one for the ages.

on February 11, 2015 at 1:35 PM
Post no double bills Post no double bills

A sharp-eyed parterrian reports a poster of some sort (perhaps protesting Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev?) has somehow been affixed to the wall of the Met lobby at balcony level during tonight’s performance of Iolanta/Bluebeard’s Castle.

on February 10, 2015 at 10:32 PM
Love it to death Love it to death

Mariusz Trelinski will direct Tristan und Isolde for Metropolitan Opera in a production that will premiere there on opening night 2016.

on February 04, 2015 at 4:46 PM
For your eyes only For your eyes only

“Don’t bother with The Loft or The Boy Next Door: the most spine-chilling thriller currently playing isn’t on the screen of your local multiplex but on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.”

on February 04, 2015 at 9:46 AM
Voilà la belle grisette! Voilà la belle grisette!

Andriana Chuchman will sing the role of Valencienne in this season’s April and May performances of Lehár’s The Merry Widow.

on January 30, 2015 at 10:33 AM
Door to door Door to door

The Met’s planned premiere of Iolanta/Bluebeard’s Castle was cancelled due to the Great Blizzard That Wasn’t.

on January 30, 2015 at 7:40 AM
Shortlisted Shortlisted

I expected something lovely, but what I beheld was nothing short of magnificent.

on January 21, 2015 at 10:37 AM