Tristan und Isolde, Mariinsky Theatre, Moscow

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/739b0ba8-cfc3-11da-80fb-0000779e2340.html

Vienna’s Mozarthaus Offers Visitors Tacky Trinkets, Boring Tape

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000088&sid=ayQ1xJGRSIus&refer=culture

A disappointing Ring that just goes round in circles

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/04/19/btring19.xml&sSheet=/arts/2006/04/19/ixartleft.html

Gotterdammerung, Royal Opera House, London

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/article358662.ece

Gˆtterd‰mmerung, Royal Opera House, London

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/522239f6-cefb-11da-925d-0000779e2340.html

In Opera, a Different Kind of Less Is More: ‘Handel and the Castrati’

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/arts/music/19cast.html

In ‘Lohengrin,’ Robert Wilson Paints Wagner’s Realm With an Abstract Palette

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/arts/music/19lohe.html

A Night to Remember: Placido Domingo & Mstislav Rostropovich

Only a few seconds after watching this DVD I was reminded of one of the great marketing failures in records. More than forty years ago, RCA brought out several glorious LP’s of young Gigli’s records and they put photographs of the sixty-five year old tenor on the sleeve.

Song of America: Music from the Library of Congress

In connection with the joint project by Thomas Hampson and the U.S. Library of Congress to present events about American song and other creativity at venues as varied as Kansas City, Fort Worth, and Carnegie Hall, EMI Classics has released this CD containing tracks from three earlier discs featuring Thomas Hampson.

Alfredo Kraus and Renata Scotto: Villancicos

I fear this is a CD strictly reserved for fans of both singers or for collectors of Christmas albums by classical singers.