Aria guides: "O! du mein holder Abendstern"

Editorial

Wolfram's aria is a pretty magical moment in Wagner's Tannhäuser. It's almost a stand-alone song within the opera, the minstrel having a musical soliloquy, and it feels much gentler, much more intimate than everything that has come before. Wolfram is singing to the evening star, thinking of Elizabeth and her sad love for Tannhäuser.

Don't miss: The Man Who Married Himself

News

The Man Who Married Himself is based in an Indian folk tale, about a man who is unwilling to marry a woman, and who instead creates a lover for himself out of his own left side. "He finds himself enraptured by his creation's perfect beauty – a mirror of his own – until he discovers that this new woman longs for another."

Tomer Zvulun: The Atlanta Opera's intriguing 2017/18

Interview

"There are countless books about Wagner, his work, philosophy and creative process. It is an incredibly rich and profound world and one can be immersed in it for a lifetime and still be a newbie. It is especially meaningful to me as an Israeli who did not have access to his music as there have been a ban on his music in Israel for decades. Perhaps that element of the forbidden made his music even more attractive to me."

Aviva Fortunata: "It was a total blur!"

Interview

"There wasn't time for much but to put on my costume and have a quick chat with the other Norns about all the rope action. The next thing I remember is the curtain opening and then the scene ending, it was a total blur! After that, I had 16 minutes to change into my first Gutrune costume. There were at least four ladies waiting to get me ready, it was a real team effort, to say the least."

In review: Peter & Deutsch at Wigmore Hall

Review

Peter and Deutsch chose songs that were a blatant reminder of just how tender-hearted men can be, especially concerning the opposite sex. There seemed a theme of lavishing praise on women, and Peter had us convinced that he was a true heart-on-his-sleeve romantic.

The best bad meal in London: the Faulty Towers Dining Experience

Review

It's an evening full of scripted sketches and impressive improvisation alike, all three characters constantly interacting with the guests. Diners were scolded for "hanky panky" at the table, reprimanded for taking too long to eat their soup, and they made room under the table for hiding Basils. Manuel caused wave after wave of eye rolls with his hilarious lost-in-translation antics, and the simmering domestic dispute between Basil and Sybil was anything but subtle.

The weird mystery of the Met's "diva directors"

Editorial

This paragraph seems dangerously presumptuous, and more than a little insulting to Meyers. It's quite a thing to say, that a director was entirely uninvolved in a singer's performance, and to credit a singer with being the saving grace of a production. It's a simple case of problematic journalism: how does Jorden know that Damrau's performance wasn't guided by Meyers?

2017/18 at the Met: are conservative seasons the way to go?

Editorial

By far, the coolest thing on the Met's new season line-up is Thomas Adès' The Exterminating Angel, when the composer himself will conduct a cast that includes the likes of Audrey Luna, Alice Coote, and Iestyn Davies. The opera seems to be the token new work of the season, like Saariaho's L'amour de loin was in 2016.

Tara Erraught: "My job is to tell a story."

Interview

"I also adore singing Hansel, as I feel like I play exactly as my brother was when we were children, and let me tell you, boys have more fun! (They don't care about keeping their clothes clean, or sitting up straight, or how their hair looks... they just eat, play and are merry!)"

Talking with singers: Robin Johannsen

Interview

"It's like a burning desire to connect with people," says Johannsen of her pursuit of opera. "I think I do it because there's unfortunately nothing else that I can find that makes me have that feeling that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing." Not everyone finds a career that's fulfilling, let alone one "where you really feel alive."