Verismo • Classical Music PR

Damn skippy!

lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · 49m I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated. Quote lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · Jan 25 Waking up without power, heat, or running water. (Again.) But the work here in Kyiv continues. Warming up in the car, writing in pencil — pen ink freezes — by headlamp.

INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

A requiem for arts coverage I used to say I wished that newspapers would treat their arts sections the way they treated their sports sections. What I meant was that sports sections offered a balanced mix of news stories, feature...

The Washington Post has only a single arts critic left - everyone else got fired today, along with all three arts editors. (There are still a couple of excellent arts reporters.) I was so upset I dusted off my blog to have my say: annemidgette.com/blog/f/a-req...

Very sorry to hear this.

I am OVER THE MOON (damn near literally!!) that our recording of Jake Heggie’s Intelligence has won the 2026 Grammy for Best Opera Recording.

Thank you to everyone who has listened, supported, and championed this project – and this mezzo!!! 💜💜💜

📸 Stacey Bode

Google has managed to utterly delight today. 😍🤩🥰 @jbartonmezzo.bsky.social

Nope, I f’loved it.

You don’t know your role yet maybe, but we are all finding out just what we have to offer.

In Minneapolis, one man knew immediately what he could offer and said “Bring me your clothing”.

Nah, they’re there for you – give the people what they want! 🤓 Once you stop being authentically you, social becomes drainful for all involved. There are enough people performing cool, no need to be that guy.

If you’ll be there at the end of the month, I’d love to grab a coffee! Beth x

Argh!! Though tbf, you might’ve seen me and not realized it – I have a full shock of silver hair now! 🤓 Next time, I hope. xx

Absolute legends at the opening of ENO Dead Man Walking. What a night!!

Christine Rice and Michael Mayes were absolutely astonishing.

I love this work – and repping Jake Heggie, I’ve seen it at least a dozen times. This was something truly special.

So grateful to have been at the Coli for this. 🥰

Tonight's rehearsal of Dead Man Walking at ENO was outstanding. Such a powerful piece.

🚨 Big Cultural Highlight Alert! ‘Dead Man Walking’ at ENO is emotionally and psychologically compelling and got a huge and well-deserved ovation on its first night! 👏🏽

Dead Man Walking at ENO, a highlight of the London opera season. Exceptional cast and creatives deliver an extraordinary evening. Christine Rice and Michael Mayes stunning in lead roles with fabulous performances from Jacques Imbrailo, Madeleine Boreham and Sarah Connolly in supporting roles.

Most contemporary operas fail not because of the music but because of dramatically limp librettos. But Dead Man Walking is a theatrical + musical triumph: total commitment by the ENO company. Jake Heggie does tremendous work with Terrence McNally’s first-rate libretto. Taut and terrific. Go!

i hate that AI has now caused me to question the authenticity of cute animal videos online, which is my primary use of social media. i don't even know if this baby penguin actually wore a beret to go buy a tiny baguette in paris

Excellent first night's performance of Jake Heggie's opera Dead Man Walking at ENO. And one of the great [sic] performances in this or any other house from Christine Rice, as Sister Helen Prejean.

Dead Man Walking - a powerful and humane opera about an inhumane system. The lead performances from Michael Mayes and Christine Rice are particularly strong 👏 👏 👏

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our gleeful, gorgeous, grounded, gutsy, gay-gasping, galaxy-gazing glamazon!! ✨

@jbartonmezzo.bsky.social
📸 Stacey Bode

Sensational opening night of the Met season – @themilesshow.bsky.social gave a truly EPIC performance as Sam Clay in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Super proud to be on Team Mykkanen! 🤩

“Hey Sister!” Can’t get to San Francisco? Don’t miss the Dead Man Walking livestream this Saturday, Sept 20, at 7:30pm Pacific.

Tickets are $25 and include a 48-hour on-demand period September 21-23.

🎟️ Tickets and details: sfopera.com/digital/livestream

📸 Cory Weaver / @sfopera.bsky.social

The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city.

This is not a joke. This is not normal.

Donald Trump isn't a strongman, he's a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.

There are probably surgeries that both need to happen quickly and aren’t wildly risky – hoping “routine” in this case just means “you don’t need to worry.”

“Emotionally lawless” is such a brilliant phrase – pocketing!

Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me? Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

New site drop! Gene Scheer’s libretti light up the Met – and beyond – this season. ✨

You've heard his brilliant collabs with Jake Heggie, Joby Talbot, Jennifer Higdon, Tobias Picker – and now Mason Bates. Don't miss The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, opening the Met season!

genescheer.com

Unseen person holding the Fall 2025 issue of Opera Now magazine with tenor Miles Mykkanen on the cover, with the headline "The star tenor giving back to American opera."

ICYMI, @themilesshow.bsky.social is out here putting the *Miles* in Career Milestone – it’s his first cover story! 🙌

Major thanks to writer Hannah Edgar and editor Hattie Butterworth for this fabulous feature. Pick up the fall issue of Opera Now or visit verismopr.com/mmoncover to check it out!

P.S. You can see Dead Man Walking this season in San Francisco, London, Boulder, and Perth – details at jakeheggie.com/season.

Huge thanks to the icons who shared their stories – Joyce DiDonato, Frederica von Stade, Susan Graham, Jamie Barton, Ryan McKinny, Michael Mayes, Leonard Foglia, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Latonia Moore, Patrick Summers, Jake Heggie, and Sister Helen Prejean.