Wendy White

Madama Butterfly - The Met

With Cio-Cio-San, the young Japanese geisha at the heart of his Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini created one of the most commanding soprano roles in the operatic repertoire. In this telecast from the Live from Met series, acclaimed American soprano Catherine Malfitano rises to the challenges, traversing a wide emotional range and delivering a vocal performance that is as dramatic as it is beautiful. Tenor Richard Leech is Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, the callous American sailor who takes advantage of Cio-Cio-San’s trusting naiveté, with baritone Dwayne Croft as the stern yet compassionate U.S. consul Sharpless. Daniele Gatti takes the podium to conduct Giancarlo Del Monaco’s production, with its picturesque depiction of turn-of-the-century Japan.

Bubbles Galore

A bisexual female pornographer searches for sexual and economic independence in a male-dominated industry. But most of all, the girl just wants to have fun.

Gounod: Faust

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann is riveting as the title character of Gounod’s popular opera, seen in this Live in HD presentation of Des McAnuff’s thrilling 2011 production that places the mythical and timeless story in an early 20th-century setting. René Pape as Méphistophélès is menacing and elegant in equal measure, and Marina Poplavskaya delivers a searingly intense portrayal of the innocent Marguerite. Russell Braun as her brother, Valentin, shines in his Act II aria. On the podium, Yannick Nézet-Séguin brings out all the lyricism and drama of Gounod’s score.

Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann

Live from the Metropolitan Opera 19 December 2009.

La Cenerentola

A timeless tale told in a florid bel canto style, Rossini’s take on the Cinderella story offers an ideal propellant for a virtuosic mezzo-soprano to rocket from rags to riches. But in this retelling, the supporting characters soar just as high: Cinderella’s Prince, her stepfather, and the Prince’s valet are given memorable arias, and the composer rounds out his score with ingenious ensemble flourishes. A vivacious masterpiece, La Cenerentola brings stock fairy tale characters to dazzling life.

Andrea Chénier

Andrea Chenier is a poet during the French Revolution. He and Maddalena are in love. Gerard, former servant in Maddalena's house, denounces them to the Tribunal, but recants it too late. The lovers go to the guillotine together.

Richard Wagner: Parsifal

The Met production easily has the most beautiful staging, designed by Otto Schenck, who also produced the fabulous set for the Met's previous Ring cycle. Kurt Moll is a wonderful Gurnemanz, but compared to his studio recording under Karajan a decade earlier it has lost some of its original velvety body and luster. As Parsifal, Jerusalem is starting to show some wear and tear on his voice at the Met in 1992 as opposed to his prime form at Bayreuth in 1981, but is still quite good; only Placido Domingo could compete with him in the role at that time.

Antony & Cleopatra - Lyric Opera of Chicago

Antony and Cleopatra is an opera in three acts by American composer Samuel Barber. The libretto was prepared by Franco Zeffirelli. After an unsuccessful premiere, the opera was extensively revised, 9 years later, by Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti.