HMS Indomitable HMS Indomitable

For Niel Rishoi, a new CD of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi by Eleonora Burrato for Pentatone can’t help but invite unflattering comparisons

Zero gravitas Zero gravitas

On the train ride home I was thinking that I don’t want to see or hear Norma ever again.

A couple of misfits A couple of misfits

Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja presented an uneven program in a lavish setting this weekend in the most recent entry in the Met’s concert series.

Cross purposes

It was while attending a performance of Fédora in Naples in 1885 that eighteen year-old Umberto Giordano fell in love with Sardou’s then immensely popular play; the protagonist was none other than Sarah Bernhardt, the creator of the title role. He immediately asked the French dramatist to sell him the rights, a request Sardou did…

Love, without music

I need to state right off the bat that I have never been one to worship at the altar of Maria Callas. While I can acknowledge her greatness, there are many other singers whom I prefer in the Bel Canto repertoire. So I was skeptical when I began watching Callas Assoluta from ArtHaus Musik.