During last spring’s Milan visit, Sandra Kitt and I had an afternoon at the city’s Cimitero Monumentale. This impressive urban space is one of the city’s two largest cemeteries (the other being the Cimitero Maggiore), and both were created to provide an alternative to the many small cemeteries located throughout the city. Designed by the …
Opera Diary: The Metropolitan Opera Supports The People of Ukraine
I have been a “regular” of the Metropolitan Opera for many years, and I’m not shy about saying that the company and its many outstanding performances are frequent subjects in these posts. So I’m sure none of my regular readers will be surprised when I say that I’ve never been prouder of my relationship with …
Opera Diary: A Day for Reflection
Walking down Fifth Avenue just after dark last night, we could see the two commemorative 9/11 light shafts. They were at the foot of Manhattan, shining their seemingly endless high blue columns into the sky. The day itself – September 10 – had been weirdly reminiscent of September 11 in 2001. Absolutely beautiful weather, not …
A Little Inspiration Perhaps
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, …
Opera Diary: 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 …