Fred Plotkin

A new museum dedicated to Richard Wagner opens this weekend near Dresden. Located in a former hunting lodge, it opens as the world gets ready to mark his 200th anniversary, reports Fred Plotkin.

"When technological devices demand our attention and we feel we are missing something if we don’t constantly check for updates, then we use our time and our senses in different ways," writes Fred Plotkin.

"While not everything works ideally in any opera company, the Royal Opera has been on a roll," Fred Plotkin reports. But what does the future hold at a time when the company's chief executive is leaving?

One of its arias became the the most memorable scene in the 1993 film Philadelphia. But far too many opera lovers aren't familiar with Umberto Giordano’s verismo gem, writes Fred Plotkin.

This glorious city, capital of the nation that gave birth to opera, has long been considered second-tier musically when compared to Milan, Venice and Naples. All of a sudden, though, that has changed.

Life imitates art at La Scala, writes Fred Plotkin. "Lohengrin tells the story of a besieged nation whose leadership is fragile and whose freedom is imperiled."

A London-based organization called the Opera Awards Foundation announced plans last month for an annual awards gala. Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin considers potential recipients.

"This Art Deco theater is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places in Paris to attend a performance," writes Fred Plotkin. And it is a good thing that it was not destroyed during a famous 1913 riot.

Most of the works of the great bel canto composers — Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti — are seldom performed because few singers are ever up to the task, writes Fred Plotkin. But one suc...

"When, about ten months ago, I began my Montsalvatge immersion, my approach was to listen to any music I could find," notes Fred Plotkin. "Then, recently, it came to my attention that...

Opera fans can be woefully sloppy, writes Fred Plotkin, taking their seats with rumpled coats and multiple shopping bags in tow. Theaters make matters worse by not providing adequate coat check facilities.

Berenice is suddenly everywhere, writes Fred Plotkin. "In the past week I have encountered her in London, at Carnegie Hall and, Tuesday night she was at the Metropolitan Opera."

A visit to the Handel House Museum, the composer's former home in London, inspires blogger Fred Plotkin to consider his place in the operatic canon. 

"Michelangelo is to art what Beethoven is to music," writes Fred Plotkin. "Beethoven’s music is so life-affirming and we get a sense of the greatness of human potential in his musi...

"Opera in English is particular, and often challenging, because our vowels are not always beautiful and unfriendly consonants tend to intrude," writes Operavore blogger Fred Plotkin.

"The idea of optimism becomes difficult in difficult times," writes Fred Plotkin. "And yet it is a renewable tonic, one that is not based on naiveté as much as belief."

The Russian maestro speaks with Fred Plotkin about a range of topics, including concert hall construction in St. Petersburg, Russia, the stigma around Shostakovich and the benefits of constant touring.

Spells, potions, black cats, tarot cards and incantations are the stuff of great opera plots. Fred Plotkin considers some of the great scary characters in the opera canon.

Baritone Thomas Allen emphasizes how both the music of Mozart and the words of da Ponte express a duality that must be captured by singers as both musicians and actors, writes Fred Plotkin

If your father is famous or accomplished in his field of endeavor, it creates particular difficulties in forging your own path in the same profession. Blogger Fred Plotkin considers some famed singing families.