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Early in Wagner's "Ring" cycle, Wotan glimpses the new home he has commissioned for his fellow gods and exclaims: "Vollendet das ewige Werk!" (The everlasting work is finished!")
A debuting Swedish soprano and a cartwheeling Roberto Alagna took over leading roles as Des McAnuff's atomic-scientist production of Gounod's "Faust" continued its run at the Metropolitan Opera.
"Is the witch really dead now?" my 6-year-old seatmate, Claudia, leaned over anxiously to ask.
The Bavarian State Opera steered clear of controversy with a popular new production of Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann." But two nights after its run ended, the company made up for it, reviving Calixto Bieito's radical reimagining of Beethoven's "Fidelio."
"Satyagraha," Philip Glass' at times magical — and at times maddening — meditation on the early career of Gandhi, is back at the Metropolitan Opera where it enjoyed a triumphant run three years ago.
On paper, it reads like the operatic equivalent of Mission Impossible: Take over the taxing title role of Donizetti's "Anna Bolena" right after Russian superstar Anna Netrebko has completed a run of seven sold-out performances.
One of the joys of frequent opera-going is the chance now and then to hear an artist take on a role for the first time and score a memorable success.
Kneeling on stage after completing a heart-rending aria about her childhood home, Anna Netrebko felt the tumultuous applause wash over her — and smiled.
The downsizing of the city's No. 2 opera company is shining a brighter light on the many smaller troupes that have taken fragile root in New York City's cultural soil.
On a list of operas in dire need of a radically stripped-down reimagining, "The Magic Flute" doesn't rank especially high.
Life was surely imitating art — or at least inspiring it — during the time that Hans Werner Henze worked on his latest opera, "Phaedra."
"James Levine: 40 Years at The Metropolitan Opera" (Amadeus Press), by the Metropolitan Opera: There are few surprises or fresh insights but plenty of nostalgia in this softcover coffee-table book that celebrates James Levine's extraordinary career at the Metropolitan Opera.
The New York City Opera has kicked off its spring season with a one-two punch that shows the scrappy company staying true to its historic dual mission.
Did someone say, "Lend me a tenor"?
The Knights of the Holy Grail in a decaying Victorian mansion? Or in a rubble-strewn wasteland? Music lovers can take their pick between drastically updated productions of Wagner's last opera, "Parsifal," now running in Barcelona and London.
The performance of Donizetti's "Anna Bolena" was chugging along fitfully, the leading lady definitely showing her age. Then the opera's final scene began, and Edita Gruberova worked her magic.
Why write an opera about the sordid life and death of Anna Nicole Smith? That question doubtless leaped to the minds of many when they heard the Royal Opera had commissioned such a work.
Five years after it premiered, Willy Decker's minimalist version of Verdi's "La Traviata" still has the power to shock.
Add Simon Rattle to the list of eminent conductors who have made belated debuts at the Metropolitan Opera.
Wartburg Castle has fallen on hard times in Tim Albery's dark vision of Richard Wagner's opera "Tannhaeuser." The people are at war, and their fortress lies in ruins.
No speeches from the orchestra pit this time. No tear-gassing of demonstrators outside. No parade of political and social celebrities.
Its composer was Italian, its plot is based on a German play, and its libretto is in French. So it's fitting that "William Tell" has become known as the unofficial national opera of — Switzerland.
One is about a fictional opera singer who possesses the secret of eternal youth. The other stars a real-life tenor who merely seems to.
Two 20th-century works that depict their composers' vastly divergent views of domestic life are on display for the New York City Opera's abbreviated fall season.
A major new role for a soprano returning to one of her favorite houses. A local debut by one of the world's leading tenors. A spare and elegant production by a famous British director.
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