The NY Times reports on a rare occurrence at the Met– an encore of an aria, Ban on Solo Encores at the Met? Ban, What Ban?: “After the tenor Juan Diego Flórez popped out his nine shining high C’s in “La Fille du Régiment” at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday night, the crowd rose and cheered. Mr. Flórez obliged with something not heard on the Met stage since 1994: a solo encore. He sang the aria “Ah! Mes Amis” again, nailing the difficult note — a kind of tenor’s macho proving ground — nine more times. It was one of those thrilling moments that opera impresarios live for.”
The Journal goes behind the stage to explore the rarely-seen world of opera prompters– which aren’t screens scrolling libretti, but people prompting the singers, It’s Not Over (Yet) for Those Who Cue Divas: “The prompter’s job combines the skills of a conductor, musicologist and linguist, with an unusual ability to listen to the orchestra, keep time with the hands and deliver the singers’ lines a moment before the downbeat.”