Troyanos and the Romans

I thought I would take forever to decide which would be my first download in DGG’s new website – after all, there were so many deleted items or those never released on CD, but it soon occured to me that the way to go should be purchasing the few tracks I would like to hear [...]

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Waltraud’s triumph

I really don’t get this whole fuss about Scala’s season opening every year – it is supposed to be a big deal if you live in Italy and could get a ticket and appear next to the Italian rich and famous who probably don’t really care for music anyway. I even happen to know someone [...]

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A Norma for the records

The Norma debacle at the Metropolitan Opera House has ignited debated whether opera houses should stage such work without a prima donna up to the almost impossible demands made by the title role. This takes us to the question – how often does a theatre has an amazing Norma at its disposal? Many singers have [...]

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Alcina… Lescaut?

Listening to the broadcast of Handel’s Ariodante from Geneva (November 17th), I began to fear that a new and definitely unwelcome fashion may have crept into the performance style of Handel works. The two or three readers of this weblog may remember my opinion about Magdalena Kozená’s new Handel disc. Apparently, the Czech mezzo-soprano is [...]

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Brave yellow label

It is a bit silly to confess a soft spot for Deutsche Grammophon, but I am afraid that used to be my case.. When I was a kid and saw the LPs with the beautiful yellow table, I couldn’t help feeling tempted to buy them. I remember driving my father to madness to buy me [...]

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