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An Interview With Christian Van Horn
Interview Violette Leonard Interview Violette Leonard

An Interview With Christian Van Horn

Twelve years on from his debut at the Met Opera, bass-baritone Christian Van Horn has made a name for himself as opera’s definitive Devil. Last September, for his fourth performance in Live in HD, he scored another success as not one but all four Villains in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. He kindly spoke to me about his podcast, his upcoming album (shh!), and winning his first Girl of the Golden Met Award. Read on!

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Highlights of the Met’s 2025-26 Season
Violette Leonard Violette Leonard

Highlights of the Met’s 2025-26 Season

The Met’s opening night world premiere is one of only three new operas, marking a departure from the six new operas presented only two seasons ago, and bel canto explodes back onto the stage. I couldn’t choose only five operas to explore here, so we’re expanding to six for this year only.

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An Interview With Quinn Kelsey
Interview Violette Leonard Interview Violette Leonard

An Interview With Quinn Kelsey

Quinn Kelsey sang in his first opera, Verdi’s Aida, at 13 years old, as a 1st tenor in the priests’ chorus. 34 years later, he is the king of Verdi baritones and singing the Ethiopian king Amonasro in the Met’s starry new production of Aida.

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Met Opera 2024-25 Crítica: Ainadamar
Español Violette Leonard Español Violette Leonard

Met Opera 2024-25 Crítica: Ainadamar

“Eso. Fue. Glorioso,” exclamó una voz anónima detrás mío al momento que el telón cayó la noche del estreno. Sin duda, la combinación de Ainadamar de grandes voces, conmemoración histórica, y explosivo baile flamenco es como nada que alguna vez he visto.

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Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Ainadamar
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Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Ainadamar

“That. Was. Glorious,” an anonymous voice behind me gushed when the curtain dropped. Indeed, Ainadamar’s genre-fusing combination of great voices, historical elegy, and explosive flamenco dancing is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

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Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Review Violette Leonard Review Violette Leonard

Met Opera 2024-25 Review: Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Jacques Offenbach‘s Les Contes d’Hoffmann is opera’s equivalent of The Tortured Poets Department, only 14,592 times better. The music brims with kaleidoscopic vibrancy and the story of Hoffmann’s three loves is delightful, though dizzyingly strange at times. 

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