New York Times Clips Wings Off Metropolitan Opera's "Bat"

Susanna Phillips (Rosalinde) and Christopher
Maltman (Eisenstein) in Johann Strauss, Jr.'s
Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera
(Photo: Nick Heavican)

"Real Champagne tends to provoke sticker shock in cash-strapped young people hoping to drink their way through New Year’s Eve. A popular solution is André, the saccharine, mass-produced sparkling wine that sells for about $4 or $5 a bottle. The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Johann Strauss Jr.’s tuneful farce Die Fledermaus, which rang in the new year on Tuesday evening, is operatic André: bubbly, sweet and syrupy. It’s not subtle or deep, but if you’re determined to have a party, it’ll get the job done. And the Met’s youthful cast is nothing if not determined to celebrate. The performers sing, dance and mug their way through Strauss’s classic waltzes with big smiles and lots of hearty laughter, intent on showing the audience a good time. But their lines are often worthy of groans more than giggles." [Source]

Joyce DiDonato Markets New Album With Famous Friends

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Tosca"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Puccini's Tosca live tonight at 8:00 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guest: Anthony Roth Costanzo, Patricia Racette and Ferruccio Furlanetto.

Pisaroni, Meade & Costanzo in 9/11 Anniversary Concert

"The Trinity Church at Wall Street presents Remember to Love: Let Us Love One Another With a Sincere Heart which will take place Friday, September 9, 8:30pm-10:30pm . The Trinity Wall Street Choir, NYC Master Chorale, Young People's Chorus of NYC, The Washington Chorus, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and Copley Singers will unite for a final, stirring performance under the direction of the participating choirs' conductors. Part of Trinity Wall Street's observance of the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. The event will be webcast, click here for more information."

Repertoire and Participants:
Requiem (Fauré)
Last Words of King David (Thompson)
"Soon ah Will Be Done" (Spiritual)
Psalm 23 (Foss)
"Amazing Grace" (Furnivall)
Windhover Fantasy (Merryman)
Ein Deutsches Requiem excerpts (Brahms)
Chichester Psalms (Bernstein)
"Dona nobis pacem" from Mass in B minor (Bach)

Special Guest Artists:
Gil Shaham, violin
Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor
Angela Meade, soprano
Luca Pisaroni, baritone

Trinity Choir, Julian Wachner, Conductor
NYC Master Chorale, Thea Kano, Artistic Director
Francisco J. Nunez, Founder, Artistic Director,
Young People’s Chorus of New York City
The Washington Chorus, Julian Wachner, Conductor
The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Greg Funfgeld, Conductor
The Copley Singers, Brian Jones, Conductor
NOVUS NY

Trinity Soloists:
Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Dashon Burton, baritone
[Source]

Boston Lyric Opera Scores with Händel's "Agripinna"

Caroline Worra in the title role with Christian Van Horn
as the Roman emperor Claudio

"The aria [“Voi che udite il mio lamento"] was particularly moving on Friday, thanks to the pure-voiced and uncommonly sensitive singing of the young countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as Ottone. He was well-matched by his Poppea, the impressive Kathleen Kim, who acted vividly and sang with a nimble, clear, gleaming soprano. David Trudgen sang well as Nerone, even if one could imagine additional dimensions to his man-boy conception of the role. Christian Van Horn was a vibrant Claudio, by turns a chest-baring lothario and moralizing sovereign. Jose Alvarez, David McFerrin, and David M. Cushing rounded out this cast. And in the title role, Caroline Worra was vocally and dramatically commanding as a freewheeling Agrippina, crazed with blind ambition for her son yet not without her own sympathetic vulnerabilities." [Source]