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The best opera magazine on the web, bet. Performance reviews, breaking news, critical essays, and brainrot commentary on opera from those demented enough to love it.
We wear the masque
We wear the masque
A brief concert at the Frick Collection teases the multifaceted artistry of Davóne Tines
parterre.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
We wear the masque
Tag team
Tag team
The women were the highlights of Washington National Opera's militaristic Aïda
parterre.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Tag team
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s Dialogues of the Carmelites
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s Dialogues of the Carmelites
The opening of John Dexter's production of The Dialogues of the Carmelites (originally produced in English) is one of the most arresting and memorable images I have ever seen.
parterre.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s Dialogues of the Carmelites
I’m still thinking about Laurent Pelly’s The Golden Cockerel
I’m still thinking about Laurent Pelly’s The Golden Cockerel
In a lifetime of opera going I suppose I have seen many transformative productions, but this recent one seems, in the light of the increasing disaster enfolding this country, uncannily pertinent.
parterre.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I’m still thinking about Laurent Pelly’s The Golden Cockerel
Let’s do the time warp again
Let’s do the time warp again
Tobias Kratzer's time-traveling Arabella from the Deutsche Oper Berlin, now available on DVD, turns the opera's problems into its strengths.
parterre.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Let’s do the time warp again
I’m still thinking about Richard Jones’s Hansel und Gretel
I’m still thinking about Richard Jones’s Hansel und Gretel
I saw this production in HD, and it really shocked me because I was used to the cackling mezzo witch, guardian angels, and gingerbread figures.
parterre.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I’m still thinking about Richard Jones’s Hansel und Gretel
Step-mothers and sons
Step-mothers and sons
Rachel Willis-Sørensen and Stephen Costello make their returns to the Met later this month and Grand Tier Grab Bag anticipates their performances by sharing them in the Act II duet from Don Carlo recorded in Munich this spring as well as a taste of Willis-Sørensen's Liebestod
parterre.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Step-mothers and sons
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s I vespri siciliani
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s I vespri siciliani
My first reaction in 1974 wasn't good. The production was full of stairs, and I was afraid Montserrat Caballé would fall at any moment.
parterre.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I’m still thinking about John Dexter’s I vespri siciliani
Beyond the merely pretty
Beyond the merely pretty
J'Nai Bridges makes a sophisticated companion to the Morgan Library & Museum's Renoir Drawings exhibit.
parterre.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Beyond the merely pretty
I’m still thinking about Barrie Kosky’s Semele and Saul
I’m still thinking about Barrie Kosky’s Semele and Saul
My experiences with live performances of Handel's operas/oratorios has been hit or miss, mostly miss.
parterre.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I’m still thinking about Barrie Kosky’s Semele and Saul
Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns
Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns
San Diego Opera's Pagliacci puts a play within a play within a play.
parterre.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Bring on the lovers, liars and clowns
“An opportunity to deliver”
“An opportunity to deliver”
Daniele Rustioni, who starts his tenure as Met Principal Guest Conductor with Don Giovanni this week, might just be the opera conductor we’ve all been waiting for -- and he’s betting on a long haul.
parterre.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“An opportunity to deliver”
I’m still thinking about John Cox’s The Rake’s Progress
I’m still thinking about John Cox’s The Rake’s Progress
I came to The Rake’s Progress with a huge “Show Me” chip on my shoulder.
parterre.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:01 PM
I’m still thinking about John Cox’s The Rake’s Progress
I’m still thinking about Lotte De Beer’s Aïda
I’m still thinking about Lotte De Beer’s Aïda
Lotte De Beer's astonishing reading of Aïda at the Paris Opera was a victim both of Covid and the culture wars.
parterre.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:00 PM
I’m still thinking about Lotte De Beer’s Aïda
I’m still thinking about Stefan Herheim’s La bohème
I’m still thinking about Stefan Herheim’s La bohème
Death is the prima donna in this opera, and Herheim doesn't let you forget it.
parterre.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I’m still thinking about Stefan Herheim’s La bohème
Grail against the machine
Grail against the machine
A new production of Parsifal at San Francisco Opera stirred something deep inside Michael Anthonio about how music soothes the soul
parterre.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Grail against the machine
Frieze frame
Frieze frame
Shirin Neshat's Aïda in Paris is a typical instance of what happens when an artist is brought in to direct an opera.
parterre.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Frieze frame
In the beginning
In the beginning
In Jacopo Peri's seminal Euridice, the Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera made a compelling case for putting you in the room where it happened.
parterre.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:01 PM
In the beginning
Nothing makes me feel better than Lohengrin
Nothing makes me feel better than Lohengrin
I take such comfort in the assumption that someone or something will save us from injustice and the lust for power.
parterre.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Nothing makes me feel better than Lohengrin
Polar opposites
Polar opposites
Grand Tier Grab Bag offers a face off of two Polish divas from Aleksandra Kurzak's debut performances as Aïda in Verona this summer.
parterre.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Polar opposites
Nothing makes me feel better than Falstaff
Nothing makes me feel better than Falstaff
It's such a joyous score, full of Italian warmth and humanity. Verdi's late-stage, evergreen score is a constant source of joy.
parterre.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Nothing makes me feel better than Falstaff
The emperor’s new groove
The emperor’s new groove
A new recording of Boito's Nerone from Cagliari shows off an epic opera with fire and flamboyance
parterre.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The emperor’s new groove
Nothing makes me feel better than Così fan tutte
Nothing makes me feel better than Così fan tutte
I have been utterly fascinated by the wildly intriguing choices of “comfort operas” these past few days. For me, Così fan tutte is my absolute first choice.
parterre.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Nothing makes me feel better than Così fan tutte
Vigorous to rigorous
Vigorous to rigorous
Dmitry Matvienko led a performance of Mussorgsky and Shostakovich at La Monnaie with meticulous rectitude.
parterre.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Vigorous to rigorous
Nothing makes me feel better than Theodora
Nothing makes me feel better than Theodora
This is not exactly a comfort "opera" as it is from Handel's late oratorio Theodora which is sometimes staged as an opera.
parterre.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Nothing makes me feel better than Theodora