Table Of Contents: September 2012

THAT TOUCH OF CLASS: PIOTR BECZALA SINGS EVERYTHING WITH STYLE

Vol. 77, No. 3

• The Hottest Tickets of the New Season
• A New Elisir d'Amore at the Met
• Venetian Drama: I Due Foscari at Los Angeles Opera
• Chicago Fire: Christine Goerke as Elektra
• We're with the Band: Inside the San Francisco Opera Orchestra
• Sound Bites: Saimir Pirgu
• Listener of Note: James Ivory

Features

Ladies’ Night

L’Elisir d’Amore used to be considered a diva vehicle — until Caruso made it a tenor’s opera. PATRICK DILLON looks at the role of Adina in Donizetti’s comedy, which returns to the Met this month in a new production by Bartlett Sher.

Dark Shadows

Verdi’s I Due Foscari has its Los Angeles Opera premiere this month. DAVID LAWTON examines the complexities of Verdi’s rarely-produced early tragedy.

Peak Form

He's often called one of today's most exciting young singers. But Piotr Beczala — Rodolfo in La Scala's La Bohème this month and the Duke in the Met's new Rigoletto in January — has been preparing for this moment for many years. SCOTT BARNES reports.

Hot Tickets!

What are the smartest ticket choices of the 2012–13 season? We offer a graphic look at some of our picks.

Dramatic Destination

Christine Goerke, who endured a troubling vocal crisis during her days as a Mozart and Handel singer, is now one of opera’s most exciting dramatic sopranos — and is singing better than ever. She makes her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Strauss’s Elektra next month. BARRY SINGER reports.

Pit Stop

Subscribers Only

The backbone of any opera company is its orchestra, yet the men and women in the pit often find themselves ignored to the point of anonymity. JAMES HARDER speaks to members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra about the exhilarating, exhausting role they play in putting on a show.

Departments

Recordings

In Review

Books

Sound Bites: Saimir Pirgu

by LOUISE T. GUINTHER

Dateline

Subscribers Only

by TRISTAN KRAFT

The Year in Opera

Subscribers Only

OPERA NEWS's International Forecast for 2012–13.
by TRISTAN KRAFT and JOE CADAGIN

Viewpoint: Pleasant Surprises

by F. PAUL DRISCOLL

OperaWatch

by OUSSAMA ZAHR

On the Beat

Subscribers Only

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess nears the end of its Broadway run; enterprising Opera Southwest mounts Rossini’s seldom-heard Otello — with your choice of endings.
by BRIAN KELLOW