Seville servants
A muted and merry carousel ride out of feudalism in the Met’s production of Le nozze di Figaro
Povera Butterfly
A parade of young singers delight in an intimate Madama Butterfly at Amore Opera
Sorrowful mystery
As tenor Pene Pati continues his Rodolfo-across-America tour, parterre box presents a snippet of his role debut as Werther from earlier this year.
Talk of the Town
A favorite Donizetti performance from Harry Rose
A friend who frequents these pages recently turned me on to a Donizetti cantata that I had never heard of: his setting of the speech of Dante‘s Conte Ugolino.
Broadcast / Live Chat
Le nozze di Figaro
A live broadcast from New York
Iolanta
A live video broadcast from Vienna of Tchaikovsky's opera
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Leyla Gencer cussing out Shirley Verrett’s Elisabetta so convincingly the audience spontaneously breaks out in applause and bravas.
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Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads an epic Wagner opera concert
Yannick leads The Philadelphia Orchestra, superstars Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton, and world-class singers in a rare concert performance that reveals every detail and nuance of this richly harmonic score. Experience the passion and cold-hearted revenge of this scandalous opera. Get tickets now!
In 1972, when I was 12 years old, my mother took me to the Salzburg Festival.
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A live broadcast of Prokofiev‘s opera from Vienna’s Theater an der Wien
One of my favorite scenes from Donizetti is the Act I finale from Anna Bolena.
Before this weekend, I never thought I would want to leave an opera by Act I. The recent production of Puccini’s La bohème at the Lyric Opera of Chicago taught me that there’s a first time for everything.
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Pick a little, talk a little
Following the successful launch of the new regular feature The Talk of the Town in January, the team at the box is inviting contributions for a new quarter of operatic potpourri.
Featured
As this is “Donizetti Month” here on parterre box, Chris’s Cache offers the recently deceased Paul Plishka and Opera Orchestra of New York with Carol Vaness in Anna Bolena and with Mariella Devia in the rarely heard Adelia.
La Favorita is my favorita. Whether it’s Favorita or Favorite, I love them both.
Opera Philadelphia announced today its 50th Anniversary 2025-2026 season, the second under the leadership of Anthony Roth Costanzo, but the first to bear his distinctive imprint.
IN Series concluded its exploration of the works of Claudio Monteverdi with a production of the composer’s final opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea, performed with the addition of Indian music and dance.
Pascal Dusapin‘s dynamic and demanding traversal of Dante‘s Commedia arrives at the Paris Opera
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Fiorenza Cossotto in her prime had few equals, particularly in the Italian repertoire
Audacious star performances elevate safe direction in Richard II and The Seagull on London’s West End
A new opera company in Hell’s Kitchen is preparing for its first performances of Tosca – and it’s putting the experience of chronic illness front and center.
Donizetti wrote so much great music, it’s hard to single out a favorite opera, or even a preferred aria!
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