Don Giovanni is no anti-hero. The moral arc of an anti-hero is long, but it tends toward good, while the Don does only the wrong things for the wrong reasons. The Lyric, to their credit, did not shy away from this truth.

Since I started this blog at 14, you have known me as Violette Leonard for privacy’s sake, for which reason I have also covered most of my face. However, I am now 18, so: Exit Violette, enter Viveka Mirkin.

The Met’s 2026-27 season is almost upon us. It was excruciating to whittle the coming delicacies down, but here are the five I am most anticipating.

Best Opera: TIE: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Tristan und Isolde

Best Soprano: Rosa Feola, La Traviata…

At its essence, art exists to bring a little wonder and beauty into our lives. Can you honestly say that opera doesn’t do that? Come to the opera, Timothée. See for yourself.

If there exist people who don’t cry at Madama Butterfly, I don’t wish to know them. The luminous Ailyn Pérez’s performance confirmed her status as the Queen of the Butterflies…