Fred Plotkin

It's the ultimate opera cliche: the diva showered with bouquets of flowers as she takes her bow. But as Fred Plotkin writes, "Strong fragrances, even pleasing ones," can lead to thorny situations.

The spectacle around Pope Francis's installation prompted Fred Plotkin to think about representations of popes and cardinals and potent Catholic figures in opera. Read on and share your own favorites.

Tuesday’s announcement that Alex Beard, 49, has been appointed as the new chief executive at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden was remarkable for its speed, especially because Beard comes from outside the institution. Typically, such searches take a longer period because the supply of able and qualified individuals is always limited, even for such a prestigious post, as few people have the necessary qualifications.

Michael M. Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, sits down with Fred Plotkin to talk about the challenges facing the performing arts world -- and how to turn around faltering arts organizations.

Fred Plotkin offers young singers suggestions about things to think about as they develop their careers and personal lives.

"Social media has enabled singers to feel connected and loved in ways that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago," writes Fred Plotkin. Still, life on the road can be a lonely pursuit at times.

This Saxon city, so beautiful and so marked by centuries of tragedy and glory, was Richard Wagner’s second home. Fred Plotkin tells us why it matters today.

Wagner’s Parsifal is not my favorite opera and I doubt it ever will be," writes Fred Plotkin. "And yet, it has taken rather firm hold of my imagination.

Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin considers the Met's next season, which has some conspicuously absent singers but also the return of conductor James Levine.

Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin takes on marketing strategies and dynamic pricing in today's opera companies in his follow up article about the future of performing arts institutions and audience loyalty.

Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin ponders the role of subscriptions in the health of performance arts institutions.

Puppets and dolls have, since antiquity, served as surrogates for humans in religious and secular celebrations. Fred Plotkin considers the work of Hendrik Bonneur, who uses puppets in opera.

A particular characteristic of life in Amsterdam is the nearly untranslatable and unpronounceable word gezellig. It applies to many aspects of life and music in the Dutch city, writes Fred Plotkin.

Sometimes a good conductor can help an orchestra overcome a flawed concert hall; other times a great hall can mask the shortcomings of a poor conductor. Fred Plotkin considers the rel...

Wine, whether still, sparkling or fortified, really flows in opera – from the elixir in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore to Champagne in Die Fledermaus. Fred Plotkin considers these heady...

"On January 25, at the Juilliard School, Joyce DiDonato gave a master class on how to give a master class," writes Fred Plotkin.

Anyone who loves opera surely knows by now that 2013 marks the bicentennial of the births of Richard Wagner (May 22) and Giuseppe Verdi (October 10), the colossi of 19th Century opera.

"Quartet," a new film directed by Dustin Hoffman, "is a bit too pat and contrived in its conflation of opera and the rigors of old age," writes Fred Plotkin. But he commends it despite its limitations.

"Friends, New Yorkers, Opera Lovers Everywhere," writes Fred Plotkin. "Do I really need to explain why people should not engage in extended conversations at the opera?"

Four cities in Italy have created what is known as the Circuito Lirico Lombardo, a consortium that works collaboratively to create four opera productions every season. Fred Plotkin reports from Italy.