Photo: Bernd Uhlig/Paris Opera

Opinion

(A)nything (B)ut (C)armen

Calling from 2066, Brendan Latimer argues that the best way to save opera might be to just blow up the standard repertoire altogether.

Grand Tier Grab Bag

Bass desires

Alexander Köpeczi, currently plying leading roles in two operas in Santa Fe and, rumor has it, the life of one prominent soprano, is the object of this week's Grand Tier Grab Bag.

Image c/o the National Gallery of Art

What passion cannot Music raise and quell?

American Bach led a stirring rendition of Handel's Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, full of big questions and even bigger musical highlights.

An instrument of your peace

Philippe Sly is sublime as Messiaen's Saint François D’Assise in Salzburg, though Romeo Castellucci's production could brush up on its catechism.

Photo: Corey Weaver

Da capo days of summer

San Francisco goes baroque with performances of Handel's Alcina, Tolomeo, and Rinaldo.

Photo: Cory Weaver

Lead balloon

At Wolf Trap Opera, a season-closing Tosca is weighed down by an incoherent setting during Italy’s Anni di piombo.

Photo: Gabe Palacio

Aryeh ready for a miracle?

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen shows that he's at the top of a crowded pack of countertenors in two recent New York performances with Philharmonia Baroque.

Some filth or dementia from TildyDiva

I could not wrap what’s left of my mind around the concept of “filth and dementia” in opera

Some filth or dementia from Belle Raggio

Renée as Thaïs finding salvation while trudging through the parched Egyptian desert in off-the-shoulder La Croix atelier.

Some filth or dementia from HBadger

What to our wondering ears should appear, but a 40-track Jonas Kaufmann Christmas album?

Some filth or dementia from Michael Anthonio

Speaking of dementia in opera, all I can think of is the extraordinary reimagined production of Béla Bartók’s chamber opera Bluebeard's Castle that I saw at Atlanta Opera in October 2022.

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.