Table Of Contents: January 2012

GRABBING THE GOLD: ERIC OWENS, BREAKOUT STAR OF THE MET'S NEW RING

Vol. 76, No. 7

• Reinventing New York City Opera
• Porgy and Bess Returns to Broadway
• Houston Grand Opera's New Rape of Lucretia
• Prize Performance: Riccardo Muti in Stockholm
• Sound Bites: David Lomelí
• The Best CDs and DVDs of the Year

Features

The Ballad of NYCO

Next month, New York City Opera presents its first operas since announcing its departure from Lincoln Center, the company's home for more than forty years. It's a move that was once unthinkable — but it may be NYCO's only hope for survival. FRED COHN traces the long, complicated and still-evolving saga of an American cultural institution's reinvention.

The Renovation of Catfish Row

Porgy and Bess is back on Broadway in a new production, directed by Diane Paulus, that offers an unconventional — and controversial — take on a classic of the American theater. FOSTER HIRSCH reports.

Letter from Stockholm

SYLVIA L'ÉCUYER travels to the Swedish capital, where Riccardo Muti accepted the prestigious Birgit Nilsson Prize in October.

A Lesson in Listening

His performance as the vengeance-bent Alberich has made Eric Owens the breakout star of the Met's new Robert Lepage Ring. As Owens explains to ADAM WASSERMAN, it's all a matter of listening to what the music has to say.

Chamber Drama

DAVID J. BAKER looks at Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, the dark chamber opera that has its Houston Grand Opera premiere next month.

Departments

Recordings

In Review

Books

OperaWatch

by OUSSAMA ZAHR

On the Beat

Domingo, the most honored tenor of our time, objects to criticism in The Washington Post; a short run for Fleming and Graham in the feature Margaret.
by BRIAN KELLOW

Obituaries

Subscribers Only

Swedish baritone Ingvar Wixell dies at eighty; artist manager Michal Schmidt.

Sound Bites: David Lomelí

by F. PAUL DRISCOLL

Viewpoint: Name-Dropping

by F. PAUL DRISCOLL

The Metropolitan Opera Guild 77th Annual Luncheon Honoring Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne
© Dario Acosta 2012

Waldorf=Astoria, New York, October 31, 2011

The Best of the Year

We offer our favorites among CDs and DVDs we reviewed in 2011.

Metropolitan Opera Broadcast: Tosca

Radio Broadcast of Saturday, January 28, 1:00 P.M.

Dateline

by TRISTAN KRAFT

Conquering Attila

Online Exclusive

Bass-baritone John Relyea, who this month sings the title character in Seattle Opera's new production of Attila, chats with F. PAUL DRISCOLL about the challenges behind taking on Verdi's Hun king.