Opera Today

Whatever its flaws – and it has them – this Zurich Opera production of Debussy’s PellÈas and MÈlisande boasts qualities that carry it very far from the standard view of those opera goers who considers the work dry, dull, and depressingly long.

Recorded approximately 35 years ago in September 1971, Bernard Haitinkís performance of Gustav Mahlerís Eighth Symphony remains a classic account of the composerís demanding score.

Refreshingly modern and familiar at the same time, the Lieder of Willy Burkhard (1900-55) are better known in his native Switzerland than anywhere else.

Most Opera Today readers are probably familiar with Gian Carlo Menotti largely through his operas (The Medium, The Consul, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Telephone, and others), and, if they teach or coach voice, may be more familiar than they’d like to be with pieces like “This is my box” and “Monica’s Waltz”, which have long been mainstays of the
“American aria” branch of repertoire for young singers.