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Meta
Tag Archives: Metropolitan Opera
Quilico and Pavarotti in Rigoletto
The Metropolitan Opera’s free feed gave us a lovely trip down memory lane last week, with a 1981 Rigoletto starring Louis Quilico, Luciano Pavarotti and Christiane Eda-Pierre. I can’t be the only one who watched, remembering the times Quilico sang … Continue reading
Brilliantly Problematic Porgy & Bess
Don’t let the headline fool you. When you see that the Metropolitan Opera are producing The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess for the first time in almost thirty years, seemingly selling every ticket to every performance, you might well ask them: … Continue reading
Met HD Wozzeck
They say it’s a co-production, this new Wozzeck that was broadcast in High Definition this past weekend from the Metropolitan Opera: “A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Salzburg Festival; the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto; and Opera Australia.” The co-pro of … Continue reading
10 Questions for Stephen Costello
The fast-rising young tenor Stephen Costello has firmly established himself as one of the current generation’s most impressive artists. He came to national attention in 2007 when, at age 26, he debuted at the Met’s season-opening night and was quickly … Continue reading
Metropolitan Opera 2013-2014
Depending on your taste, there are good and bad things in Peter Gelb’s announcement of the 2013-2014 season at the Metropolitan Opera. I am most excited by an item that seems to currently be under the radar. Dmitri Tcherniakov will … Continue reading
Posted in Opera, Personal ruminations & essays
Tagged Metropolitan Opera, Peter Gelb
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Canadian Pride
It’s the day before the Academy Awards, which means Canadians can indulge in our favourite sport. No I don’t mean hockey, which is more of an obsession than something you could dismiss as mere fun. It’s too much of a … Continue reading
Posted in Essays
Tagged 32 Short films about Glenn Gould, Christopher Plummer, COC, Francois Girard, Jonas Kaufmann, Metropolitan Opera, Metropolitan Opera High Definition Broadcast, Michael Levine, Mychael Danna, Oedipus Rex, Opera de Lyon, Parsifal, Richard Bradshaw, Siegfried, Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms, The Red Violin
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10 Questions for Wallis Giunta
Have you seen this smile? That’s Wallis Giunta, who may have caught your eye in the in-flight magazine you’d casually leaf through if you were flying Porter airlines between New York and Toronto: as Giunta herself likely does. A graduate … Continue reading
Jan 1st Troyens
Francesca Zambello’s production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens has returned to the Metropolitan Opera. When it premiered a decade ago it was Deborah Voigt as Cassandra, Ben Heppner as Aeneas and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson as Dido, conducted by James Levine. A … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged Ben Heppner, Berlioz, Bryan Hymel, Elizabeth Bishop, Fabio Luisi, Francesca Zambello, James Levine, Les Troyens, Metropolitan Opera, Susan Graham
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Trojans: three or is it four?
To my knowledge there are three versions of Hector Berlioz’s epic Les Troyens on DVD. I obtained the first when it came out as a VHS tape. It’s now available re-mastered, capturing several remarkable performances from 1983, the Metropolitan Opera … Continue reading
Quilico’s Rigoletto
Some artists have an abundant recorded legacy, while others are curiously under-represented. At times I find this irritating, because I suspect it’s more a reflection of market forces than an indication of real quality. I believe if Louis Quilico had … Continue reading