Blog
Opera Onscreen: Crying and Renée Fleming in Margaret (2011)
My favorite opera scene in film is perhaps the obscurest: Margaret (2011), when Anna Paquin and J. Smith-Cameron attend Les Contes d’Hoffmann starring Renée Fleming and Susan Graham. By the end of the Barcarolle, Paquin’s character has burst in tears and reconciled with her estranged mother.
His Journey: An Interview With Jake Heggie
All in all, 2023 is turning out to be quite the Year of Jake Heggie, the acclaimed classical composer. He told me (and now you!) all about his journey to classical, Dead Man Walking, why he’s drawn to write for mezzo-sopranos, and more! Read on.
Met Opera 2023-24 Radio Review: Dead Man Walking
When Dead Man Walking premiered in 2000, the Met avoided modern like the plague. Now, at last, DMW is at the Met. There’s no question that it is an emotionally harrowing work. There’s also no question that audiences love this beautiful wringer.
An Interview With Matthew Polenzani
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking over Zoom with the splendid tenor Matthew Polenzani about operatic characters, his happiest memories as a performer, the Chicago Cubs, fatherhood, and more!
Highlights of the Met’s 2023-24 Season
On February 22, the Met revealed their 2023-24 season, the first since announcing a shift toward contemporary opera. A third of the operas are recent works, but there’s still plenty of classic repertoire.
