Biographies
Else Gentner-Fischer
Else Gentner-Fischer was born on September 5th 1883 in Frankfurt am Main where she also began and finished her vocal studies. At the local Opera House she made her operatic debut in 1905 and in the same year married the tenor, Karl Gentner (1876-1922) who, like …
Walther Ludwig
It is a strange matter of fact that German tenor WALTHER LUDWIG is as little known in Germany as in all the other countries where opera, recorded music and collecting recordings is an inherent part of the cultural life. Not many of the great standard …
Articles, Interviews & Memories
Sitting down with San Diego Opera’s David Bennett
In early 2014, San Diego Opera surprised everyone with an announcement that the company was closing at the end of that season. In the past, the opera had featured stars like Joan Sutherland
Reflections on the greatness of Enrico Caruso
Enrico Caruso was a unique great tenor, without any doubt. I included him in my personal choice of the XX century “avant guard” group of great tenors. The group comprises the Italians Caruso,
Focus Feature
Five Operas Worth Re-Discovering
Quality certainly isn’t the only criterion that decides whether a work of art survives or not: luck and a few other rather aleatory factors seem to play a major role. In today’s standard repertoires we can find works that should not have survived the decade …
Blog
Supertitles, good and bad
Supertitles have become an essential part of the opera experience. While Bayreuth continues to hold out (and probably will forever), every major house I’ve visited …
Glass harmonicas in opera
The eerie, shimmering tone of friction against glass bowls—the sound of insanity? The glass harmonica shows up rarely in opera instrumentations (it was not a …
Selected Content
Dream opera seasons (again)
I love dreaming up opera seasons! I’m not actually managing an opera festival, so I am not beholden to petty concerns about what will sell tickets. …
Regietheater
Last week, I went to Parsifal at the Royal Opera House. The singing was sublime. The same could not be said for the staging. Although there were …
My favorite trouser roles
There’s a saying in opera and musical theatre that the mezzos and altos get to play three types of roles: “witches, bitches, and britches”. While …
