Behold the happy pair Behold the happy pair

Beverly Sills and Renée Fleming perform 30 years apart the same work with the same orchestra in the same venue!

French kiss French kiss

To celebrate Valerie Masterson‘s turning 85 tomorrow, Trove Thursday offers a second annual birthday salute to the English soprano.

Camarena delivers Camarena delivers

From the multiple standing ovations, to say nothing of the gentleman in the front row waving the Mexican flag, I can safely say that a very good time was had by all.

Playing the diva vs. being the diva Playing the diva vs. being the diva

In the last weeks of January, as the Metropolitan Opera season wound to a close (prior to the winter hiatus) two striking sopranos were thrust into the limelight.

Late bloomer Late bloomer

Teresa Zylis-Gara died in late August at 91 and Trove Thursday offers the Polish soprano in a wide-ranging collection of live material showcasing her great versatility.

Are you there, God? It’s me, Margared Are you there, God? It’s me, Margared

Trove Thursday offers a nearly forgotten 19th  century opera with a most marvelous name: Le Roi d’Ys by Éduoard Lalo featuring a superb French cast led by Alain Vanzo, Andrea Guiot, Jane Rhodes and Robert Massard.

The key of dreams The key of dreams

My sister Julie celebrates an important birthday later this month which reminded me—as I also recalled I visiting her while she was living in Prague—that I should unearth Bohuslav Martin?’s Julietta with Lucia Popp and Dénes Gulyás for this week’s Trove Thursday.

The curious case of Benjamin Bernheim The curious case of Benjamin Bernheim

Who’s been hiding tenor Benjamin Bernheim from me all this time?

I have a song to sing, O! I have a song to sing, O!

The lovely English soprano Valerie Masterson turns 84 today, prompting Trove Thursday to present her in a pair of her specialties.

Kaleidoscopic maestro Kaleidoscopic maestro

Saturday marks the centenary of Julius Rudel’s birth which Trove Thursday celebrates with Le Coq d’or, Faust and Ariodante, a triple-bill showcasing his impressive versatility, featuring Beverly Sills and Norman Treigle, two of the most important artists he nurtured during his leadership of the New York City Opera.

The Lady Eve The Lady Eve

For nearly 70 years, New York City was the world capital of concert opera thanks first to the American Opera Society, then to Eve Queler’s Opera Orchestra of New York.

Mad and madder Mad and madder

With La Scala’s plan to open on December 7 with a new Lucia di Lammermoor thwarted, Trove Thursday sets its Wayback Machine to nearly 50 years ago to present two of the 20th century’s greatest madwomen—Joan Sutherland and Beverly Sills—denounced by Plàcido Domingo and Alfredo Kraus respectively, with the former pair consoled by Kurt Moll‘s luxurious Raimundo.

Day at the museum Day at the museum

Renée Fleming presented a satisfyingly eclectic and quietly daring program of songs and arias, an interesting timestamp on a career that, despite its crepuscular vibe, seems as active as ever.

Manon Manon

Starring Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano and Artur Rucinski; conducted by Maurizio Benini. Transmitted live on October 26, 2019.

A perpetual contrast A perpetual contrast

Trove Thursday completes its Prévosttrifecta with Puccini’s Manon Lescaut starring Sondra Radvanovsky and (pre-Met) Aleksandrs Antonenko conducted by Riccardo Chailly plus an added Radvanovsky-Puccini bonus: Suor Angelica.

Illness as illness Illness as illness

In operatic pathology, diseases are endowed with preposterous mythological properties: they are both an emblem of desire and the punishment for desire. They are crime, confessional, and executioner all rolled into one.

Quand votre sœur Charlotte est là! Quand votre sœur Charlotte est là!

Trove Thursday previews Massenet’s Werther—due to return next month at the Met—with a 1984 Paris performance starring two marvelous protagonists, Tatiana Troyanos and Alain Vanzo.

Strangers when we meet Strangers when we meet

The San Francisco Opera, perhaps incidentally, continued their exploration of operas based on literary works by mounting the revival of Giacomo Puccini’s first success, Manon Lescaut.

The Coronation of Lisette The Coronation of Lisette

Sunday’s Richard Tucker Gala at Carnegie Hall was unusually satisfying despite a less than usually superstarry line-up.

Suddenly spinto Suddenly spinto

When soprano Yihan Duan started to sing her aria, you could feel an almost electric charge that something special was happening.

When a man loves a woman When a man loves a woman

At the Met’s performance of Manon Tuesday evening, Michael Fabiano made as good a case as any for renaming the opera Chevalier des Grieux.

Et voila l’histoire Et voila l’histoire

To mark Beverly Sills’s 90th birthday (May 25, 1929) “Trove Thursday” offers the late diva’s acclaimed Massenet heroine opposite her ideal Des Grieux, Alain Vanzo.

Prophète bien aimé Prophète bien aimé

New Amsterdam Opera specializes in American singers whose abilities are as yet little known.

But wait! There’s more! But wait! There’s more!

Sunday’s sold out Carnegie Hall recital became a veritable love-fest between the Peruvian tenor and those assembled in the Hall.