Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance 2013

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Elizabeth – I must confess I’m still recovering from Met overload and wasn’t too excited to be attending an opera. Fortunately the first opera of Martina Arroyo’s 2013 Prelude to Performance program was Elixir of Love.  This was a piece I saw, and loved, at the Met last season and was excited to see Prelude’s take… [Read More]

General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera Rick Santorum Addresses Upcoming Season

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General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, Rick Santorum, addressed a crowd of reporters and well-wishers at Lincoln Center Plaza this past week. “My personal late night internet research has revealed to me that the last couple of seasons at the Metropolitan have caused Nathan Gunn and his vocal folds to go off half cocked.  This… [Read More]

2012-2013 Season Recap

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After our New York City Opera season full of Dwarves (Vegas, Wagnerian or otherwise), Tempests, Machines, Mid-Scene Replacements and Onstage Musical Fellatio, here is our 2012-2013 Season recap of our favorites. Elizabeth – Traviata:  While the beginning of Traviata truly had me concerned—at one point I thought they might stop and start over, the beginning was… [Read More]

1980’s Sitcom Character Monroe Ficus Publicly Repudiates Actor Jim J Bullock

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Actor Jim J Bullock was unavailable for comment after the fictional character he played for 4 years from 1983-1987 on Too Close For Comfort publicly repudiated the actor at a hastily called press conference in an abandoned pool near Tarzana CA.  Not since TJ Hooker publicly burned William Shatner’s wig on television in 1992 has… [Read More]

We Few, We Happy Few: Kenneth Branagh’s The Magic Flute in Teeny Tiny US Theatrical Release

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We saw one of only eightNYC screenings of Kenneth Branagh’s film of The Magic Flute this week.  Emerging pictures has arranged an ultra limited 2 day single showing run at four locations in NYC and elsewhere around the country (including Des Moines, IA amazingly) and it will be available via various video on demand providers on Tuesday, June… [Read More]

Flashmob Verdi Style!

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As I left the Met a week ago on the last day of the season, I must confess I breathed a sigh of relief.  Götterdämmerung would be the last strains of opera I heard for at least a couple months.  This past year Shawn and I saw over 20 operas at the Met alone, not… [Read More]

The Hunchback of the Casino: Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera

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Last week we saw the new modern production of Rigoletto at the Met. Elizabeth – This past year has been a blur of operas, and most performances were my first time seeing a particular opera.  I have to confess that I now have certain operas confused or simply cannot remember them.  My introduction to Rigoletto, however, easily… [Read More]

Leitmotifs: A Fun Game to Play with Your Fingers and Your Ears

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This is no doubt at least in part due to our newly acquired Wagner Addiction and Uber Nerd-dom, but we found Metoperafamily.org’s Ring Cycle personal Leitmotif generator really fun and diverting.  Answer a series of questions and you will hear an audio clip of the Ring Cycle Leitmotif that best suits you and a short… [Read More]

Money for Nothung: Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera

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We attended the Met season premiere of Siegfried this weekend.  Perhaps Wagner has a unifying effect on us. Elizabeth – The Met’s season premiere of Siegfried appeared to go off without a hitch on The Machine’s part.  This installation of The Ring had a good deal of levity and some physical humor that I greatly enjoyed. … [Read More]

Mid-Scene Replacements and The Machine Triumphant (Almost): Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera

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We went to the Met’s season premiere of Die Walküre this weekend with great trepidation.  After the epic set fails of The Machine at last Saturday’s season premiere of Das Rhinegold we were prepared for the worst.  BUT The Machine executed it’s morphing set changes without a hitch….almost.  Perhaps the multi million dollar reinforcements of the stage… [Read More]