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Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Ainadamar
Review Violette Leonard Review Violette Leonard

Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Ainadamar

“That. Was. Glorious,” an anonymous voice behind me gushed when the curtain dropped. Indeed, Ainadamar’s genre-bending combination of great voices, historical elegy, and explosive flamenco dancing is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

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Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Review Violette Leonard Review Violette Leonard

Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Jacques Offenbach‘s Les Contes d’Hoffmann is opera’s equivalent of The Tortured Poets Department, only 14,592 times better. The music brims with kaleidoscopic vibrancy and the story of Hoffmann’s three loves is delightful, though dizzyingly strange at times. 

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An Interview With Sydney Mancasola
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An Interview With Sydney Mancasola

In 2019, soprano Sydney Mancasola earned a place in the operatic annals when she headlined the European premiere of Breaking the Waves. She recently spoke with me about that experience, Debussy’s enigmatic Mélisande, and the “thrilling” contemporary opera scene in the US.

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Opera Is Cool: Debunking Myths
Violette Leonard Violette Leonard

Opera Is Cool: Debunking Myths

Let’s face it: opera has gotten a bad rap. In reality, opera is one of the most glorious art forms in the world. Come debunk some myths with me! (Hint: it involves Beyoncé.)

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Met Debuts Left This Season
Violette Leonard Violette Leonard

Met Debuts Left This Season

The Met’s 2023-24 season is coming to an end in just over six weeks, but there are still some artists readying to make their debuts. These are the two sopranos and a conductor that Met audiences will meet very soon.

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