Soprano Leontyne Price, Live and in Her Prime, Graces a New Met CD
(WorldNews Music)

Tonight was supposed to be one of the absolute highlights of the 2020-2021 musical season in New York: the Metropolitan Opera was to open with a gala new production of Verdi’s Aida featuring soprano Anna Netrebko in the title role. But those plans were made before COVID. The Met’s opening is now pushed back to December 31, when the company promises a concert of some sort. And diva Netrebko is nowhere near New York: earlier this month she was hospitalized for COVID-related pneumonia. In these dire circumstances, even the most optimistic operagoer can feel diffident about considering future plans, so there’s a natural tendency to retreat into...