As we struggle with what’s happening all around us, from time to time we need a little inspiration. I recommend listening to two choral pieces. Both are pretty remarkable and speak to us – it seems to me – in our current situation. In the first, the Met Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, …
Venice: A “La Traviata” from Our Own Time
Is there any opera that is talked about (or written about) as often as La Traviata? Who knows? And while La Traviata is not one of the much referred-to three most popular operas in the world (the famous alphabetical A-B-C: Aida, La Bohème, and Carmen), it remains steadfast in the repertory in almost every serious opera house. And in …