Come sail away with me
On the heels of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film adaptation, John Danaher muses on operatic iterations of Homer’s Odyssey.
Pénélope
9 pieces since 2009.
9
pieces
18
years
Music is a woman
Dan Johnson on the unique voice of Hildegard composer Sarah Kirkland Snider — and why some music could only ever be written by a woman.
Old wife’s tale
Pénélope at the Bayerische Staatsoper’s summer festival spotlights the crossroads between the nostalgic and the progressive.
Nymph errant
On this day in 1922 the Metropolitan Opera presented the company debut of Catalani’s Loreley.
A different type of self-consciousness altogether
Emily D’Angelo, in a moment of subversion, sang the entire program wearing casual trousers, a vest, and chunky combat boots, her cropped hair slightly mussed, and wearing only light make-up.
To comfort you
“Trove Thursday” features its two favorite baritones in a pair of comforting settings of the Requiem.
The best is yet to come
The CD explosion coincided with an enormous increase in interest in HIP (historically informed performance) so now there were lots of commercial recordings of the sort of operas I had turned to pirates to find.
The waiting game
This week’s gem from the Mike Richter collection is all the more precious for its rarity: a performance of Fauré’s Pénélope starring ravishing Régine Crespin.
Appearing nightly
I suspect most New York City opera-lovers had long since given up hope that the fascinating soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci would ever return to their city.
A loom of one’s own
We all know and love Fauré, but how many of us can say we’ve seen his opera Pénélope live and in person? As of last night, I number myself among the few.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
