The rumored surge in popular demand for yet another opera blog having failed to materialize, a few words about what can be expected here may be in order. That word “critical,” I’d say, is the key. In my dictionary, the first definition of “criticism” reads, “The act of making judgments; analysis of qualities and evaluations Continue reading…
Announcing: Webinar Conversation with Will Crutchfield: Opera’s Place in the New Society
Dear devotees: On Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7:00 EST, my longtime friend and colleague Will Crutchfield and I will be tackling the daunting topic of “Opera: Going or Gone?” We’ll try to answer three questions: 1) What sort of society is coming into being as we speak? 2) Can opera find a place in that Continue reading…
Summer Surprise: The Firestone Hour!
By way of tiding us over till the start of a new season, I’m reviving an otherwise obscure article from my archive that I think will interest many readers. It’s another in the series of pieces I wrote for the Sunday New York Times in the early 1990s, whose re-publishing rights I was able to retain.(I) Continue reading…
“Onegin/Traviata,” Grigorian/Feola, and Notes on the Plight
First, three recommendations: 1. This summer, Will Crutchfield’s Teatro Nuovo will be presenting, along with Rossini’s delightful “Il Turco in Italia,” the somewhat revised version of “Don Giovanni” that the Garcia company, at the behest of Lorenzo da Ponte, brought to New York in a season considered the birth of Italian opera in the city. Continue reading…
Minipost: New Publication Date
The post originally targeted for today, Fri. June 5, will be published on Monday, June 15th. It will include some end-of-season thoughts at this difficult juncture for opera; evaluations of two late-season Met Opera revivals (Eugene Onegin and La Traviata); and few announcements. My apologies for the delay, CLO
Beyond Opera: The Met’s New “Tristan.”
A quick note to start: In 1994, my longtime colleague Joseph Horowitz published his fascinating Wagner Nights, an account of the life and times of the conductor Anton Seidl, who introduced Tristan und Isolde to America (Metropolitan Opera, 1886, among many other performances during those German-language seasons), led the extraordinary series of popular summer concerts (heavy Continue reading…