First and foremost First and foremost

They say you never forget your first.

The bad and the beautiful The bad and the beautiful

“Trove Thursday” offers Offenbach’s irreverent La Belle Hélène featuring the beauteous Véronique Gens.

Dido it again Dido it again

“Trove Thursday” presents Purcell’s remarkably concise Dido and Aeneas in a pair of fascinatingly different interpretations.

Band in Boston Band in Boston

In the triumphant American premiere of Orlando Generoso at the Boston Early Music Festival last week, the hippogriff was among the many stars of the show.

In a deep vaulted cell In a deep vaulted cell

We convoke for Dido and Aeneas in an arched tunnel a city block long, lit by candles in the many recesses.

They love a piano They love a piano

It’s difficult to reconcile what Schlather writes with what we see onstage, which is a jumble not only of pianos, but of periods and concepts.

Made in the shade Made in the shade

Here’s a quick sprint through some recent (and a few maybe not-so-very-recent) Handel CDs that have been stacking up. 

Death be not proud Death be not proud

The New Camerata Opera performs a double bill of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis, sometimes dubbed the first English opera, and Gustav Holst’s Savitri.

Welcome to all the pleasures Welcome to all the pleasures

“Trove Thursday” marks St. Cecilia’s Day with two works by Henry Purcell, the composer who often celebrated music’s patron saint.

Something’s comin’ Something’s comin’

This program honored the singer, composer and theorist Giulio Caccini, “Giulio da Romano,” on the 400th anniversary of his death.

Trouble in paradise Trouble in paradise

Although Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti is always categorized as an opera, the piece certainly has one foot planted firmly in his jazzy musical-theater style.

Glamour, reconceptualized Glamour, reconceptualized

Opera Philadelphia’s O18 Festival continues through the weekend, but Friday represented a finale of sorts with the last two premieres.

Goodbye, gorgeous! Goodbye, gorgeous!

Can a surfeit of pleasure become—in the end—unsatisfying?

Iris, hence away Iris, hence away

Endlessly extricating her from existing contracts then negotiating new ones must make being Sonya Yoncheva’s manager the hardest job in the music business.

The most dangerous game The most dangerous game

“Trove Thursday” presents a recording of the rare L’Olimpiade featuring Joan Caplan and Rita Shane in the two leading castrato roles.

Harmony of contrasts Harmony of contrasts

Joyce DiDonato’s atest album, In War & Peace: Harmony through music, is more specific than it sounds.

No contest No contest

Richard Wagner viewed dance as an essential element of art, though he used it sparingly in his operas.

Give my regards to Carthage Give my regards to Carthage

A semi-staging of Dido and Aeneas starring Broadway divas and frequent collaborators Kelli O’Hara and Victoria Clark seemed a screwy idea at best.

The good, the bad and the Haydn The good, the bad and the Haydn

In a striking program at Carnegie Hall last night, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s), with guest vocalist Susan Graham, brought together a wide array of musical proclivities—good and good bad taste alike.

Women past the verge Women past the verge

An astute double-feature exposes all the complexities of female suffering embedded within two canonical works.

Baby the reine must fall Baby the reine must fall

I’m beginning this new series of “pirate-casts” with a great opera: Berlioz’s Les Troyens featuring the luminous pairing of Janet Baker and Jon Vickers as Didon and Énée.

Henry, sweet Henry Henry, sweet Henry

Although she began her career nearly 25 years ago recording and performing lots of baroque music, I was surprised to see German soprano Dorothea Röschmann promoted as the star attraction of an all-Purcell concert Sunday at Carnegie Hall.

Megalomania in mufti Megalomania in mufti

Who needs sets and costumes anyway?

Wish upon a star Wish upon a star

At what moment does a “rising star” become simply a “star”?