Saturday’s broadcast performance of Carmen by the Met was perhaps the best that I have seen. Overall, it was immensely enjoyable. Garanca simply is the best Carmen that I’ve seen. Frittoli was good. The last-minute replacement for the toreador was outstanding. On the other hand, I do have some relatively minor quibbles. I prefer the Met’s original production, both because of the greater amount of available space for the performers and also because the more recent setting didn’t please me as much esthetically. Roberto Alagna’s acting was superb, but I greatly prefer the voice of the younger Domingo who we experienced on the DVD at UL. I also prefer a Micaela who is younger and more naive.

My reaction to the HD TV live broadcast of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann from the Metropolitan Opera House yesterday is rather mixed. I already am aware that some of you loved it, whereas others did not. With a group as diverse as ours, such disparity is not too surprising.
In any event, on the positive side, the performances by Anna Netrebko (Antonia), Kim (Olympia), and Lindsey (Nicklausse), as well as the Orchestra, were excellent. On the other hand, Calleja (Hoffmann) was very disappointing, although at times he sang beautifully. Held (Lindorf, etc.) was insufficiently sinister. The other principal singers were only OK.
Overall I found this particular production boring. In attempting to explain why, I must point primarily to the integration of what in other performances [...]

ARTS / MUSIC | October 30, 2009
Music Review | ‘Turandot’:  He’s Come to Melt the Heart of an Ice Princess
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
The dramatically alluring and vocally impressive soprano Lise Lindstrom made her Metropolitan Opera debut on Wednesday as a last-minute replacement for Maria Guleghina.
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CONTROVERSY ON TURANDOT PRODUCTION???
One of our students, Marika Bonacorsi, was unable to attend the Turandot discussion because of an exam conflict. Instead, I decided to provide her with a make-up writing assignment. She had remarked to me that Zefirelli productions in general, and Turandot in particular, were too ostentatious for her personal taste. So, I challenged her (as the make-up writing assignment) to describe briefly how she would [...]

We are not scheduled to see the Met’s live HD TV broadcast of this opera performance until February. However, for an early preview of Donizetti’s influence on Verdi, see the article entitled, “Reverberations,” on pp. 32-35 of the November issue of Opera News.

ARTS AND LEISURE | New York Times / October 11, 2009
INTO THE MUSIC:  A Cougar Caught in Time’s Trap
BY DANIEL J. WAKIN
Richard Strauss’s “Rosenkavalier,” opening at the Met, is a moving exploration of the passage of time, the nature of love and what it means to be noble.
THE ARTS | October 15, 2009
MUSIC REVIEW:  May-December Duo, Together Once Again
BY ANTHONY TOMMASINI
On Tuesday, Ren’ee Fleming and Susan Graham were reunited in “Der Rosenkavalier,” a revival of Nathaniel Merrill’s lavishly traditional production first introduced 40 years ago.