Fred Plotkin

Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin's thoughts on relevance in opera in an art form that is constantly being reframed in a world where events unfold at an accelerated rate.

When the announcement came that Alexander Pereira had been selected as the next chief of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, smartphones all over the music world commenced to vibrate ceaselessly.

If you stroll down Philadelphia’s Broad Street, one of the city’s grand thoroughfares, you will notice that one prime section, not far from City Hall, is known as the Walk of Fame. It honors illustrious Philadelphians in the arts with their names in stars on the pavement. This is a positive indication of the values of this historic cradle of the American Republic.

"There has been a stunning revival of opera in unusual places this year, much of it in spring and summer, a period when opera offerings were once meager," writes Fred Plotkin. Here are a few highlights.

"I used to have a slight depression when the Met ended its season," writes Fred Plotkin. But a busy crop of smaller opera companies serves as a needed pick-me-up.

"You don’t need me to tell you that San Francisco has a lot to like," writes Fred Plotkin. Along with its food, art, weather, sports and other virtues, that includes great opera.

Blogger Fred Plotkin addresses the question that that he is asked most often: “How/why can you like Wagner?” The answer: It's complicated.

Two current exhibits at the Met Museum prompt blogger Fred Plotkin to consider how "singers need to be taught how to wear costumes, not only for proper movement but for creation of character."

With 65 operas, Alessandro Scarlatti is considered by many scholars to be the most important Italian opera composer between Monteverdi and Rossini. But he's not so well known to audiences.

A documentary about the rehearsal for a new production of La Traviata at the 2011 Aix-en-Provence reminds blogger Fred Plotkin of the French town's mix of charm and beauty.

In opera, and not only, sisters are doing it for themselves. It seems that everywhere I look and listen lately, there is a suora, soeur, cесtра or schwester on an operatic stage. I am in the midst of attending my 47th complete Ring Cycle (yes, I know...) and am writing this just after hearing a musically gratifying performance of Die Walküre at the Met. Deborah Voigt has added colors and texture to her Walküre Brünnhilde since I first heard it two years ago. It is always heartening to see an artist who deepens her approach to a role rather then simply repeat what she has already done.

"I wonder whether regular exposure to certain types of music, particularly opera and song, could favorably affect developing fetuses," writes Fred Plotkin.

There is a subset of orchestral composers who wrote gorgeous songs and had a clear understanding of the human voice, writes Fred Plotkin. One was Mahler. Another is Edvard Grieg.

Old school or new, singers approach Schubert’s “An die Musik” with a variety of nuances, tempos and inflections. Fred Plotkin considers eight different approaches, with video examples.

Patrick Watson is both a trained opera singer and co-owner of Stinky Brooklyn, a cheese store in Carroll Gardens. His love of opera and cheese inspires Fred Plotkin to consider the two pursuits.

Florence's Maggio Musicale has suffered bombings, floods, managerial inattention and political maneuvering. But recent austerity measures in Italy are especially damaging, writes Fred Plotkin.

Opera fans are lurking among the student body at Columbia University, writes Fred Plotkin. "Opera companies would be wise to cultivate Columbia students for future audiences."

Fans often express their frustration with opera administrators, writes Fred Plotkin. But just as influential, in most cases, are the boards that govern opera companies and provide a large part of the money.

If a performance is "numbingly slow" with "no pacing to speak of, no structure or architecture to the rendering of the score" should the conductor be blamed? Absolutely, argues Fred Plotkin.