The Top Five Tastiest Feasts in Opera
Monday, November 19, 2012
By Amanda Angel
As many of us music lovers prepare for Thanksgiving feasts of our own, we've sniffed out the five tastiest feasts that are served up on the opera stage.
Planet Opera London: Discovering Handel and his Times
Friday, November 16, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
A visit to the Handel House Museum, the composer's former home in London, inspires blogger Fred Plotkin to consider his place in the operatic canon.
Beethoven and Michelangelo: Colossal Utopianism
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
"Michelangelo is to art what Beethoven is to music," writes Fred Plotkin. "Beethoven’s music is so life-affirming and we get a sense of the greatness of human potential in his music and in Michelangelo’s art."
A Phoenix Rises from the Ashes of Opera Boston
Monday, November 12, 2012
By Brian Wise
When Opera Boston folded early this year and its ambitious plans were scrapped - almost. The planned centerpiece of the company’s 2012 season was reconceived as a concert opera Saturday night.
Recording Roundup: Joyce DiDonato and Nicholas Phan a Study in Contrasts
Sunday, November 11, 2012
By Marion Lignana Rosenberg
"Every musical career has an arc, and right now Joyce DiDonato is at the apogee of vocal and artistic splendor," writes Marion Lignana Rosenberg. Tenor Nicholas Phan "seems in thrall to his illustrious forebear Sir Peter Pears."
The Problem with Opera in English
Saturday, November 10, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
"Opera in English is particular, and often challenging, because our vowels are not always beautiful and unfriendly consonants tend to intrude," writes Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin.
Review: Boos for the Met's Handsome New Ballo Weren't Deserved
Friday, November 09, 2012
By David Patrick Stearns
From the first scene, the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Un Ballo in Maschera was to be a grand night for booing, writes Operavore critic David Patrick Stearns.
Three Operas Brought to You by the Letter ‘Z’
Friday, November 09, 2012
By F. Paul Driscoll / Tristan Kraft / Margaret Kelley : WQXR / Midge Woolsey : WQXR Host
Other than Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), how many operas can you name that begin with the letter Z? Consult our Zagat-style guide to find out more.
Three Letter Arias: Why Opera Still Loves Hand-Written Letters
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
In an age of texting, Twitter and e-mail, the hand-written letter can seem like a relic of ancient times. But not on the opera stage.
Only the Best
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
"The idea of optimism becomes difficult in difficult times," writes Fred Plotkin. "And yet it is a renewable tonic, one that is not based on naiveté as much as belief."
Tea and Bagels with Conductor Valery Gergiev
Friday, November 02, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
The Russian maestro speaks with Fred Plotkin about a range of topics, including concert hall construction in St. Petersburg, Russia, the stigma around Shostakovich and the benefits of constant touring.
Top Three Moments for Verdi's Lady Macbeth
Thursday, November 01, 2012
By Midge Woolsey : WQXR Host
Verdi's musical transformation of Shakespeare's Macbeth shines the spotlight so brightly on his ruthless and ambitious wife that perhaps the opera should be renamed in her honor.
Sandy Meets The Tempest: The Met Opera Reopens
Thursday, November 01, 2012
By Naomi Lewin : WQXR Host
After cancelling performances for two days, the Met returned Wednesday with – ironically – a scheduled performance of The Tempest, an opera based on Shakespeare by Thomas Adès.
A Mystical Madwoman as Unlikely Opera Heroine
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
By Marion Lignana Rosenberg
Women and madness is a primal operatic theme, heard in everything from Monteverdi’s Arianna to Donizetti’s Lucia and on to Régine Saint Laurent, the overwrought title character in Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna.
When Opera Characters Cast Their Spell
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
Spells, potions, black cats, tarot cards and incantations are the stuff of great opera plots. Fred Plotkin considers some of the great scary characters in the opera canon.
Hans Werner Henze: The Last Interview?
Sunday, October 28, 2012
By David Patrick Stearns
"Nobody should be surprised that composer Hans Werner Henze was at the premiere of a new work days before he died on Oct. 27 in Dresden," writes blogger David Patrick Stearns. "He was unstoppable."
Master Class: Thomas Allen on Making Mozart's Music Sing
Friday, October 26, 2012
By Fred Plotkin
Baritone Thomas Allen emphasizes how both the music of Mozart and the words of da Ponte express a duality that must be captured by singers as both musicians and actors, writes Fred Plotkin
Top Five Political Satires in Opera
Friday, October 26, 2012
By Amanda Angel
"Saturday Night Live" and Comedy Central don’t have a monopoly on political satire. Commentary on the state of government has been showing up in for centuries in operas by Monteverdi to John Adams.
Three Reasons Why Wagner’s Rienzi is Rarely Performed
Thursday, October 25, 2012
By Margaret Kelley : WQXR / Midge Woolsey : WQXR Host
Wagner’s Rienzi is an opera that hardly ever gets produced by major companies. On this edition of Opera in Brief, F. Paul Driscoll names its challenges.
Review: The Met's Tempest Blows Hot and Cold
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
By David Patrick Stearns
Thomas Adès’ operatic adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest arrived at the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday. David Patrick Stearns writes that it has "only fitful musical brilliance and many theatrical deficits."
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About Operavore
LISTEN TO THE OPERAVORE 24/7 STREAM!
Operavore is WQXR's digital 24/7 audio stream and news blog devoted to Opera. Enjoy this continuous, carefully programmed mix of opera arias, duets, scenes choruses and instrumental numbers through the stream. The Operavore blog features up-to-the-minute news, reviews, quick hits and commentary on the world of opera. Fred Plotkin and Olivia Giovetti follow the performers, composers, directors and designers that inspire, both in New York and beyond. It's also a place for opera lovers to discuss their passions and for newcomers to discover what's fresh and exciting in the field.
Links
- ArtsBeat
- Barihunks
- Clef Notes
- Ionarts
- Mass Culture Mozart
- Norman Lebrecht
- NPR’s Deceptive Cadence
- Opera Chic
- Opera News
- Opera Now
- Opera Tattler
- Parterre
- San Francisco Classical Voice
- The Rest Is Noise
- Yankee Diva
Authors
- Fred Plotkin
- Olivia Giovetti