The late opera singer Jubilant Sykes was allegedly stabbed over 73 times by his son, Micah, in December 2025 at his Santa Monica home

I've never been a big fan of Othello but thankfully Verdi and Rossini must have liked it, giving us Otello (Verdi, 1887) and Otello, ossia il Moro di Venezia (Rossini, 1816). I've seen the former but not the latter. Anyone here a big fan of Verdi's Otello? I'm curious to know what the attraction is. It's got a banging opening and obviously the Willow Song towards the end but it's never really appealed to me.

It's an Atom Egoyan movie that appears to be about a director creating a production of Salome that looks quite a lot, from the trailer, like Atom Egoyan's Salome that I saw with Hildegard Behrens in Houston like thirty years ago. Egoyan isn't my favorite or least favorite but I'm wondering if the movie's enjoyable. It appears to have Ambur Braid, who was a terrific Farberin in the Aix broadcast of Frau, as the singer/Salome.

I'm really into lyric singing and I absolutely loved Verdi's Otello. Assuming I only have time to deep dive into 10 other operas, which ones should they be? I completely despise atonal music. I loved Otello more for the singing and the melodies than the libretto (which is definitely good, to be fair). But if I had to prioritize, I care way more about the vocal lines and melody than the plot—something like a 65-35 or 60-40 split. I enjoyed a lot Il Trovatore; the plot is frankly idiotic, making it a 75-25 split for me, but I still enjoyed it. So, what else should I dedicate my time to?