Who is the diva you were assigned at birth?

opera from a certain point of view

Podcasts

Richard Lynn would like to bring some operatic podcast episodes of The Sewers of Paris and Die Primadonnen to your attention.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Bel canto snarl for bel canto snarl

Rising stars Chelsea Lehnea and Ricardo José Rivera are the protagonists of this week's Grand Tier Grab Bag.

Reviews

Background: The Santa Fe Opera Chorus, Ya-Chung Huang (Goro), Darya Narymanava (Mother), Sophia Baete (Aunt); Foreground: Jarrett Ott (Sharpless), Karen Chia-ling Ho (Cio-Cio-San), Stephen Costello (B.F. Pinkerton), by Bronwen Sharp for the Santa Fe Opera

High and dry

Ilana Walder-Biesanz reports from The Santa Fe Opera, where Tobias Picker's latest opera falls short, a new Rodelinda scintillates, and sumptuous singing abounds across the entire repertoire.

Photo: Lori Lind

Life’s a Blitch

Shakespeare Opera Theatre presented two American operas exploring themes of hypocrisy and deception — in a church!

Photo: Steven Taylor

Faerie tale theatre

Zémire et Azor, André-Ernest-Modest Grétry's riff on "Beauty and the Beast", gets a rare outing in the Berkshires.

Photo: Geoffroy Schied

Don’t go in the basement

Malin Byström is a radiant water nymph in the Bayerische Staatsoper's house-of-horrors-set Rusalka.

Hit me with your best shot

Dmitri Tcherniakov's production of Der Freischütz in Munich may fire a few blanks, but the musicians are all on target.

Talk of the Town

Some filth or dementia from Moe Rear That this performance of Verdi's Lady Macbeth was recorded and preserved for posterity is beyond the pale.
Some filth or dementia from Ivy Lin Dementia and filth in the same clip!
Some filth or dementia from Kevin Ng I mean.
Some filth or dementia from Harry Rose Not really sure what was going on here.
Some filth or dementia from Mat Hal Who doesn't love a slightly murky archival recording?

Broadcasts & Live Chats

For you tender shut ins who prefer opera from a distance, Parterre Box hosts live chats during broadcasts and livestreams.

Are you an opera newbie lookin’ to listen and learn? Or maybe an overly articulate know-it-all wanting to indulge your fantasy of an anonymous 12-way with people who couldn’t possibly understand you?

Well that must suck. But you’re welcome to join us anyway.

In the spirit of AOL circa 1998, here are some upcoming chances to clique and claque:

Tue

Le siège de Corinthe

Carlo Rizzi conducts Adrian Sâmpetrean, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, and Matteo Roma in a live opening night broadcast from Pesaro

Streaming and discussion start today at 2:15 PM Eastern Time

Wed

L’occasione fa il ladro

Alessandro Bonato leads a live broadcast from Pesaro featuring Dave Monaco

Streaming and discussion start Aug 12 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time

Thu

La scala di seta

Iurii Samoilov, Paolo Bordogna, and Hasmik Torosyan lead a live performance from Pesaro

Streaming and discussion start Aug 13 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time

Sat

Verdi Requiem

Riccardo Muti conducts a matinée performance featuring Iwona Sobotka, Marianne Crebassa, Michael Spyres, and Maharram Huseynov live from Salzburg

Streaming and discussion start Aug 15 at 5:00 AM Eastern Time

Aug
17

Eugene Onegin

Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts Mattia Olivieri and Olga Kulchynska in a performance recorded earlier this summer at The Santa Fe Opera

Streaming and discussion start Aug 17 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time

Aug
19

Ariadne auf Naxos

Robin Ticciati conducts Rachel Willis-Sørensen, David Butt Philip, and Alina Wunderlin in a live performance from the Royal Albert Hall

Streaming and discussion start Aug 19 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time

Aug
20

Der Prinz von Homburg

Ingo Metzmacher conducts Hanz Werner Henze‘s opera live from the Salzburg Festival

Streaming and discussion start Aug 20 at 1:30 PM Eastern Time

Aug
22

Hannover Opera Gala

Michael Spyres, Caterina Piva, and Ludovic Tézier perform excerpts by Bizet, Cilea, Verdi, Puccini, and more, live from Hannover

Streaming and discussion start Aug 22 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time

Aug
22

Knoxville: Summer of 1915

Jonathon Heyward conducts Angel Blue in a live broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall

Streaming and discussion start Aug 22 at 2:30 PM Eastern Time

Aug
24

Rodelinda

Harry Bicket conducts a cast lead by Lucy Crowe in a performance recorded earlier this summer in Santa Fe

Streaming and discussion start Aug 24 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time

Aug
26

The Met Orchestra plays Strauss

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Elza van den Heever in the final scene from Salome as well as the Rosenkavalier Suite and Ein Heldenleben

Streaming and discussion start Aug 26 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time

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Email us if you must: [email protected]

Ciao for now!
Nick Scholl
Publisher, Parterre Box

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