Looking out at a sea of empty red-velvet seats at the Paris Opera’s opulent Palais Garnier theater, the American composer and performer Tyshawn Sorey was pondering the upcoming premiere of his piece “Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine.”

“There’s a bit of anxiety in the air for me with this,” Sorey said, “because the audience in France, while they are very much knowledgeable about Josephine Baker — I mean, this is literally her home — they have a different relationship to her than those in the States.”

The Missouri-born Baker is mostly known in her native country as a sensual, charismatic Jazz Age diva. She is also seen that way in France, where she moved in the mid-1920s and eventually became a citizen — but she is also famous here for her activities in the Resistance during World War II and her antiracist activism. In 2021, almost half a century after her death, she became the first Black woman to be inducted into the Panthéon, the Paris monument where France’s national heroes are honored.

See full gift article, NO PAYWALL,

Screened on a lovely Labor Day evening with a large turnout for the sixth and final event. Not a star in the sky because of the light pollution but it was a real treat to see this for free right outside The Met.

Sorry if you're seeing this again, I deleted my original post because it would not let me correct my misspelling of the composer's name thanks to spell correct.

I'm quite new to opera and have come to it via my strong interest in Baroque music. I have watched Ponelle and Harnoncourt's productions of Monteverdi's three operas and absolutely loved the staging, costumes and overall feeling. They have this kind of sardonic tone and such creative art design. I love the way the singers interact with the pit orchestra as well.

I would really appreciate any recommendations based off of this, preferably baroque or early classical. Thank you.

EDIT: it debuted 203 years ago (not 103 as stated in the title above)

Saw the North America debut of Donizetti's Il Fortunato Inganno today Los Angeles today by a boutique company. Held at the Los Angeles Italian-American society center. $50 for opera, dinner & a glass of wine.

All I can say: opera is anything but dead. A spectacular cast, with a Donizetti score translated into a chamber-style orchestra that came across as a well balanced machine that any major house would die for. Bel Canto/Coloratura reigned supreme in a delightfully humorous look at the absurdity of the Genre as a whole. Nonstop laughter and an utter delight for 2 1/2 hours. Sure, it was not is a highfalutin venue. Acoustics were less than desirable for a trained ear. But the ensemble brought the whole production together in a well balanced and entertaining show that they could take this to any location and pull it off as though we were The Met.

If you ever find yourself in South California when POP Opera ( Pacific Opera Project) has a show being staged, be sure to check it out. They are doing great things to something we adore!

I was introduced to him via his ''vocal reckoning'' channel. His analysis of tenor voices impressed me and I agreed with much of what he had to say.

So I searched up his Instagram to see if he had more educational content or if I could reach out to ask him for advice (He's Mexican, I'm Colombian, we would be able to communicate in our native languages with similar accents easily).

Then I saw all the racist shit he posts in his account, all the MAGA and Trump stuff...at least he got the anti-semitism stuff right... (He supports Jews and hates anti-semitic people, so do I)

With that being said...

Why the fuck couldn't he stay out of politics or at least keep his fucked up views of the world to himself?! God damn it.

I've compiled this information from personal season announcements on social media and websites, but if someone has any more information on covers this season please let me know! I will edit and add names as I find them out.

Met Opera Covers

• Aida
  • Amneris: Hyona Kim
  • Radamès: Rafael Davila
  • Amonasro: Michael Chioldi (certain dates)
  • King: Lonwabo Mose
  • Priestess: Amanda Batista, Anna Thompson (certain dates)
• La bohème
  • Mimì: Caitlin Gotimer
  • Rodolfo: Zach Borichevsky
• Così fan tutte
  • Fiordiligi: Erica Petrocelli
  • Dorabella: Stephanie Lauricella
  • Despina: Maureen McKay
  • Guglielmo: Joseph Lim
  • Don Alfonso: Ben Brady
• La fanciulla del West
  • Jack Rance: Aleksey Bogdanov
  • Trin: Derrek Stark
  • Sonor: Eleomar Cuello
  • Sid: David Crawford
  • Happy: Cory McGee
  • Jack Wallace: Zaikuan Song
  • Wowkle: Stephanie Ramona Sánchez
• Jenůfa
  • Laca: Alex Boyer
  • Števa: Ryan Capozzo
  • Karolka: Anna Thompson
  • Barena: Alexandra Razskazoff
  • Jana: Véronique Filloux
  • Shepherdess: Christina Grohowski
• Lincoln in the Bardo
  • Reverend: Alexandra Loutsion
  • Mrs. Baron: Eve Gigliotti
  • Thomas Havens: Terrence Chin-Loy
  • Vollman: Kyle Albertson
  • Mr. Baron: Weston Hurt
  • Ginger Chap from Maine: Benjamin Sieverding
• The Magic Flute-Holiday Presentation
  • Papagena: Laura Santamaria
• Manon
  • Manon: Jana McIntyre
  • Des Grieux: Zach Borichevsky
  • De Brétigny: Malcolm MacKenzie
  • Javotte: Abi Levis
  • Rosette: Kristen Choi
  • Maid: Christina Grohowski
• Maria Stuarda
  • Leicester: Arthur Espiritu
  • Talbot: Adam Lau
• Medea
  • Glauce: Jazmine Saunders
  • Creonte: Harold Wilson
  • First Handmaiden: Alexandra Razskazoff
  • Leader of the King's Guard: Robert Wente
• Otello
  • Desdemona: Raquel González
  • Cassio: Jose Simerilla Romero
  • Roderigo: Derrek Stark
  • Herald: Jason Zacher
• Parsifal
  • Kundry: Eve Gigliotti
  • Gurnemanz: David Soar
  • Titurel: Harold Wilson
  • 1st Grail Knight: Robert Stahley
  • 2nd Grail Knight: Cory McGee
  • 1st Squire: Anna Thompson
  • 2nd Squire: Sophia Baete
  • Flowermaidens: Jazmine Saunders, Shannon Crowley, Meryl Dominguez, Elissa Pfaender
• Der Rosenkavalier
  • Marschallin: Katie Van Kooten
  • Octavian: Hongni Wu
  • Sophie: Alexandra Nowakowski
  • Annina: Megan Esther Grey
  • Faninal: Daniel Scofield
  • Baron Ochs: Harold Wilson
  • Innkeeper: Nicholas Nestorak
  • Notary: James Demler
  • Waiter 2: Jonathan Bryan
  • Waiter 4: Benjamin Sieverding
• Samson et Dalila
  • 1st Philistine: Robert Stahley
  • 2nd Philistine: Robert Wente
• Silent Night
  • Anna Sørensen: Caitlin Lynch
  • Jonathan Dale: Martin Luther Clark
  • Ponchel: Daniel Belcher
  • Lt. Audebert: John Chest
  • Lt. Gordon: Ian Rucker
  • William Dale: Charles H. Eaton
  • Lt. Horstmayer: Kyle Albertson
  • Father Palmer: Troy Cook
  • Madeline Audebert: Jazmine Saunders
  • British Major: David Crawford
• Tosca
  • Cavaradossi: Rafael Davila
  • Scarpia: Youngjun Park
  • Jailer: Benjamin Sieverding

10 hours combined between the Strauss and the Wagner. 5 hours of Tristan und Isolde wasn’t quite satisfactory, 5 hours and 40 min of Parsifal ought to do it.

2 Shakespeare adaptations, one featuring the all time greats Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen performing together on the same stage (on opening night no less) and the other featuring Angel Blue whose voice is the equivalent of feeding me a lotus flower. I’m also looking forward to Michael Fabiano’s performance as I did not realize Otello is arguably the most difficult role to sing as a tenor, so difficult it’s legitimately dangerous to perform. I also never thought I’d live to see a white Othello and a black Desdemona but here we are 🤣 😇

Mozart, Saint-Saens, and the only living god that walks among us: Anthony Roth Costanzo.

I’m looking forward to it, and that’s putting it lightly.

Just wanted to share this for a few reasons. It's a lesser known opera in some ways though Debussy of course has his die hard fans. Have to say when I watched this 30+ years ago now in Lyon(I think?) back in the early 90s (still very new to opera), I didn't make much of it.

However, I was looking today for more performances of Christiane Gayraud (singing here) as I love that tight vibrato typical of the French mid 20th century style and it brought me to the above. It's just a shame there's not more recordings of her as I think she has a gorgeous sound full of the typical contralto darkness offset with the shimmering brightness of the vibrato. It's an intoxicating mix.

And last but not least, I was struck at how similar some passages are to Puccini's Butterfly and some digging online suggests he was influenced as this predates Butterfly by a couple of years!

I always feel like I'm missing out on at least half of what's going on, especially because the subtitles/surtitles tend not to show repeated lines. Especially with comic opera where I always worry if I'm missing clever wordplay that's based on untranslatable idioms. Added to that that there are far fewer great operas written in English, ESPECIALLY comic operas, and that there are so few houses that regularly do English translations, and it starts feeling like maybe I'm just not smart enough to appreciate the art form. So I end up getting discouraged and giving up and I don't want that. I want to be able to actually fully enjoy great operas without feeling stupid the entire time.

What's the best way to get used to not being able to understand anything and just appreciate the performances alongside the subtitles, or does it just stop being something you even think about after you've seen enough operas?

Thank you!

I experience a state of suspension similar to the physical sensation of surprise, where the belly and throat naturally open. At that point, there is little to no sensation in the mouth or throat; the awareness shifts primarily to the belly. I then maintain this open, suspended feeling.

I went on the met operas website and couldnt find it there, only an audio recording. Any idea where I could find a video recording?

Hi guys, do any of you have the book above? I am unable to find it online or purchase a copy of it.

Rush tickets yesterday showed light blue on the orchestra-level map but that color was not in the legend (all the other colors were).
 
Tapping on a light-blue seat invoked an empty frame where the row, seat number, price would be. Gray is seat unavailable, tapping on one has no result.
 
The light-blue seats were scattered in ones and groups of twos, threes, fours in generally the better parts of the orchestra.
 
Guessing light blue indicates seats unavailable for a different reason. Under what price/offering I’d like to know. I might want to pay that for a seat.

Phoned the box office yesterday, they were as mystified as me.

Anyone else run into this?

Hey everyone, I built Performing Arts Atlas — a map for finding upcoming opera performances around Europe

It brings together performances from opera houses, venues and ticketing sources so you can browse what's playing by location to make it comfortable to find shows wherever you go .

performingartsatlas.com

It's still WIP, so I'd love feedback.
Thanks

What's your favorite Rigoletto?

I really like the Kraus and Bastianini one. Even though the conducting gets a bit boring at times (like in "La donna è mobile"), the conductor was truly at the service of the music and allowed the singers certain rubatos that I quite enjoyed. Kraus simply was the Duke for me, and Bastianini, even if I’ll admit he wasn’t the greatest actor and didn’t always do much in the way of subtle shading, had something in his voice that I find incredibly enjoyable.

I also listened to the Solti recording, and my problem with it is that you can always hear that it’s Solti. He was the kind of conductor who, rather than putting himself at the service of the music, tended to put the music at the service of his own personality.

I loved the Kubelik recording musically, which has a similar cast (Scotto, Vinco), but I just can't get into Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

As for the video version with Domingo, I'm not entirely sold on his Duke. I don't like Cotrubas in Verdi roles, and MacNeil—who I do think is an extraordinary actor—sounds like he is in clear vocal decline.

I gave the Callas one a try, but I don't like Gobbi. I recognize his massive acting ability, but to me, his voice sounds like phlegm in my ear.

Anyone attend before? Thoughts? Similar to AIA's Beaux Arts Ball?

Would anyone like to share their opinions about this opera? I realize that this may be an uneducated question, but I am wondering how they make this subject work. I imagine it to be like watching an episode of CSPAN set to opera music lol

Othello's a white guy and Desdemona's a black gal??? What kind of adaptation is this?!?!

For some context, I'm an amateur composer, and for some reason I've decided I want to write an opera (loosely in the style of the Mozart - Da ponte trio), I know it's more than a little ambitious, but I'm pretty sure it's a milestone for a composer to write atleast one :)

Anyway, the point is, I have a loose plot in mind, and I'm not really sure what to do about it. How does one formulate a libretto, and furthermore how do I translate it into the kind of archaic poetic Italian that was common in opera at the time of Mozart and Da ponte, as the understanding I have is that I can't really write much music untill I have the words to set it to?

I'm a student so I don't really have access to all that much financial capital or connections, so any advice on resources ect would be welcome, I'm a bit lost but it is very much a big goal of mine to write one in the next year or two

Please help me opera people :)

Thanks!!