Mignon of Ambroise Thomas was performed at the Met many times but has not been for decades.
Esclarmonde is the only answer to the question of what the Met should revive.
It is time for the Met to revive Puccini‘s masterpiece and his best work IMHO, Il trittico.
It’s fascinating, and gorgeous, and over the top, and it requires a director to make actual decisions in a way that causes clutching of pearls when it happens in a production of a better known opera.
Der Freischütz has not been seen at the Met since 1972!
Every mediocre performance of Trovatore (and don’t we know about those?) could instead be a very good performance of Massenet‘s Hérodiade.
Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes — not I vespri siciliani, but the French original.
Peter—may I call you Peter? It has come to our attention that you are seeking operas with “rich, melodic scores.”
This is an astonishing recording by one of the greatest singers of the 19th century.
The Greatest Thing Ever (AKA Lisette Oropesa) in a stunning performance of “Martern aller Arten”
Never heard more beautiful runs than by Della Casa.
Idomeneo from the 2022 Aix festival. A wacky production, with those moving towers, but the cast is outstanding: Michael Spyres (Idomeneo), Anna Bonitatibus (Idamante), Sabine Devieilhe (Ilia), Nicole Chevalier (Elettra); Raphaël Pichon, Conductor.
One of the most purely gorgeous voices I’ve ever heard live.
Mozart: Zaide, K.344 / Act 1: “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben” · Lucia Popp · Vienna Haydn Orchestra · István Kertész from Mozart Opera Festival ? 1972 Decca Music Group Limited
One of my most favorite pieces is Barbarina’s delightful opener to Act IV of Le nozze di Figaro, “L’ho perduta, me meschina!” from the recording conducted by Otto Klemperer.
Nothing to add here – Just heavenly singing from one of my all-time favorites.
Sabine Devieilhe sings a lot of stellar Mozart — Ilia, Susanna, Blonde, a fierce Queen of the Night — but it’s her 2015 concert-aria recording, featuring hubby Raphael Pichon and his period ensemble Pygmalion, to which I return most often. Stick around until the VERY end of the final track for an ass-kicking surprise. (Or should I say…ass-licking? ;)
The combination of a young opera director who is a little bonkers and a seasoned Mozart soprano (this was Lenneke Ruiten‘s 13th Mozart role on stage) resulted in one of the best performances of Nozze di Figaro I’ve ever seen.
As most of you probably know, I worship at the altar of Moffo the way some worship Callas. She has so many great complete recordings, including Falstaff, Luisa Miller, Lucia, Rigoletto, etc. But one of her very best is this Nozze. Carlo Maria Giulini leads an absolutely perfect cast.
I was so beguiled by Erika Baikoff when I saw her perform at the Sag Harbor Song Festival back in September. Such a lovely and musical voice that just flows and when she sang this, she got mid-note applause during the final sustained B.
Sometimes–to negotiate the High Gee!s, as it were–you just need to call in Edda Moser.
Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Paris 1980: Georg Solti, Lucia Popp, José Van Dam, Gundula Janowitz, Gabriel Bacquier, Frederica Von Stade.
Sing High, Sing Low – My favorite Fiordiligi
I’ve shared this before but this is one of the most perfect pieces of Mozart singing and acting I’ve ever come across.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
