Ennevi Photo / Fondazione Arena

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Polar opposites

Grand Tier Grab Bag offers a face off of two Polish divas from Aleksandra Kurzak's debut performances as Aïda in Verona this summer.

Priamo Tolu

Recording Reviews

The emperor’s new groove

A new recording of Boito's Nerone from Cagliari shows off an epic opera with fire and flamboyance

Scott Suchman

Feature

“By boycotting us, you are killing art”

Brendan Latimer sits down with Francesca Zambello and members of the cast of Washington National Opera’s production of Aïda to discuss the complicated legacy of one of Verdi’s most beloved works and the tricky business of “inventing the truth.”

Brescia e Amisano

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Six appeal

Grand Tier Grab Bag highlights two "Final Trios" from Der Rosenkavalier recorded just two days apart from one another.

Tatyana Grishanova

Vigorous to rigorous

Dmitry Matvienko led a performance of Mussorgsky and Shostakovich at La Monnaie with meticulous rectitude.

Opera Lafayette's Dido and Aeneas, performed at Sixth and I in Washington, DC, Photo: Jennifer Packard

School gyrls

What Opera Lafayette’s Dido and Aeneas lost in gravitas it gained in charm and specificity.

Peter van Heesen

Undoing of woman

Anthony Hüseyin's eclectic recital in Berlin explores femicide in opera through a queer, nonbinary lens.

Matthias Goerne and Daniil Trifonov, Photo: Fadi Kheir

Up the creek and over the hill

Matthias Goerne's Die schöne Müllerin at Carnegie Hall offers a hoary and excessive collection of mannerisms and vocal tics that served the artist more than the music itself.

Nothing makes me feel better than Falstaff

It's such a joyous score, full of Italian warmth and humanity. Verdi's late-stage, evergreen score is a constant source of joy.

Nothing makes me feel better than Così fan tutte

I have been utterly fascinated by the wildly intriguing choices of “comfort operas” these past few days. For me, Così fan tutte is my absolute first choice.

Nothing makes me feel better than Theodora

This is not exactly a comfort "opera" as it is from Handel's late oratorio Theodora which is sometimes staged as an opera.

Nothing makes me feel better than Die ägyptische Helena

Die ägyptische Helena isn't even an opera I love so much as a whole.

Nothing makes me feel better than Hänsel und Gretel

I was first exposed to Hänsel und Gretel as a child, likely via The Metropolitan Opera's 1982 PBS telecast.