Anne Midgette
@classicalbeat.bsky.social
Writer, recovering music critic.
There are still humane editors at the @washinpost.com, because someone let one of the journalists they'd fired reach out to readers one last time to announce her own newsletter for local news in the DMV. Sign up and support Alisa Tang's new venture; we need local news! alisadailydose.beehiiv.com
Alisa’s Daily Dose | Alisa's Daily Dose
Offering you comfort & community in the DMV
alisadailydose.beehiiv.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:11 PM
There are still humane editors at the @washinpost.com, because someone let one of the journalists they'd fired reach out to readers one last time to announce her own newsletter for local news in the DMV. Sign up and support Alisa Tang's new venture; we need local news! alisadailydose.beehiiv.com
In the mail today: a card from my friend in Germany -- dated December 10. Today is February 13. When people say the mail is slow these days, they aren't kidding.
February 14, 2026 at 12:20 AM
In the mail today: a card from my friend in Germany -- dated December 10. Today is February 13. When people say the mail is slow these days, they aren't kidding.
Just in time for Valentine's Day: "Quartet for Anne," which my husband Greg Sandow wrote years ago as the best birthday present ever, is now streaming on Apple Music. music.apple.com/us/album/qua...
Quartet for Anne by Terra String Quartet on Apple Music
Song · 2026 · Duration 4:49
music.apple.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Just in time for Valentine's Day: "Quartet for Anne," which my husband Greg Sandow wrote years ago as the best birthday present ever, is now streaming on Apple Music. music.apple.com/us/album/qua...
Such a great review of "Wuthering Heights" - "a large dumb terrarium of sensation: a slick, sweaty, chest-beating, garment-rending, gloopy-albumen total eclipse of the heart." Dave White in SLUGGISH.
sluggish.ghost.io/wuthering-he...
sluggish.ghost.io/wuthering-he...
"Wuthering Heights" - when loving lovers love
It begins with a very horny public execution. Don't remember that from the book? It's fine, that's why Emerald Fennell's film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights is called "Wuthering ...
sluggish.ghost.io
February 11, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Such a great review of "Wuthering Heights" - "a large dumb terrarium of sensation: a slick, sweaty, chest-beating, garment-rending, gloopy-albumen total eclipse of the heart." Dave White in SLUGGISH.
sluggish.ghost.io/wuthering-he...
sluggish.ghost.io/wuthering-he...
Look, the Washington Post is still doing journalism. Here's the inside story of how the Washington National Opera left the Kennedy Center. wapo.st/4arCIML
Inside the Kennedy Center’s scorched-earth Washington National Opera split
How the Washington National Opera’s Francesca Zambello forced a confrontation to leave the Kennedy Center after the Trump takeover threatened its future.
wapo.st
February 11, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Look, the Washington Post is still doing journalism. Here's the inside story of how the Washington National Opera left the Kennedy Center. wapo.st/4arCIML
I would be willing to bet that someone at the Pentagon who issued this directive thought El Paso was in Mexico. And the FAA had to step in with a map.
MS NOW: "A congressional official with knowledge of the matter is telling MS NOW the cause of the shutdown of El Paso airspace is a lack of communication between the Pentagon and FAA. The official told us the FAA and DOD are 'not in clear communications with each other.'"
February 11, 2026 at 3:02 PM
I would be willing to bet that someone at the Pentagon who issued this directive thought El Paso was in Mexico. And the FAA had to step in with a map.
I used to focus on what classical music the #olympics figure skaters chose for their programs - but this year they appear to have entered Wagner's Siegfried himself in competition. (I kid, I kid. I know this is Ilia Malinin, the top American man. The visuals, though.)
February 10, 2026 at 9:54 PM
I used to focus on what classical music the #olympics figure skaters chose for their programs - but this year they appear to have entered Wagner's Siegfried himself in competition. (I kid, I kid. I know this is Ilia Malinin, the top American man. The visuals, though.)
Everybody watch the trailer for this important movie on sexual abuse, "Dear Lara," and hope that after its success at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, distributors will pick it up. Ask the young violinist who choked out a tearful Thank You in the Q&A. share.google/hBosgncNRAev...
"Dear Lara" Trailer
share.google
February 9, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Everybody watch the trailer for this important movie on sexual abuse, "Dear Lara," and hope that after its success at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, distributors will pick it up. Ask the young violinist who choked out a tearful Thank You in the Q&A. share.google/hBosgncNRAev...
Many @washingtonpost.com international reporters were laid off while working overseas and left to figure out for themselves how to get home. This fundraiser is for them and other former staffers who worked to help get the news out about what was happening in their countries. gofund.me/232347921
Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee
Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees
gofund.me
February 9, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Many @washingtonpost.com international reporters were laid off while working overseas and left to figure out for themselves how to get home. This fundraiser is for them and other former staffers who worked to help get the news out about what was happening in their countries. gofund.me/232347921
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...
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...
annemidgette.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:13 PM
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...
Quote of the day (from an article in the @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social) #thewriterslife
January 28, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Quote of the day (from an article in the @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social) #thewriterslife
It's like they knew I was going to ask… #winterstorm2026 #catlitterisnotagoodsubstitute #askmehowiknow
January 23, 2026 at 8:55 PM
It's like they knew I was going to ask… #winterstorm2026 #catlitterisnotagoodsubstitute #askmehowiknow
I was intensely annoyed by this sentence in a book review. One woman produced brilliant work in a tiny room; therefore we shouldn't complain that women's lives have historically been circumscribed? Wow. (The book is "One Aladdin Two Lamps" and he does like it, but jeez.) @hamiltoncain.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 2:12 PM
I was intensely annoyed by this sentence in a book review. One woman produced brilliant work in a tiny room; therefore we shouldn't complain that women's lives have historically been circumscribed? Wow. (The book is "One Aladdin Two Lamps" and he does like it, but jeez.) @hamiltoncain.bsky.social
Wrapping presents is going fine, thanks for asking. Happy Christmas to all who celebrate, and peace and love to everyone in this holiday season. #catsofbluesky #christmascat #christmaspresent #happyholidays
December 24, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Wrapping presents is going fine, thanks for asking. Happy Christmas to all who celebrate, and peace and love to everyone in this holiday season. #catsofbluesky #christmascat #christmaspresent #happyholidays
The cat actually smiled for the photo. #catsofbluesky
November 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
The cat actually smiled for the photo. #catsofbluesky
I was looking for images of 18th-century silver online as reference for my book-in-progress, and now there's an excited eBay seller out there who thinks I'm about to make an offer on a mustard-pot.
October 31, 2025 at 9:59 AM
I was looking for images of 18th-century silver online as reference for my book-in-progress, and now there's an excited eBay seller out there who thinks I'm about to make an offer on a mustard-pot.
Well, Game 5 is off to a brisk start. #worldseries #ohcanada
October 30, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Well, Game 5 is off to a brisk start. #worldseries #ohcanada
Turns out I was right about the Kennedy Center trees (see last Skeet). It was the last administration that decided to take them down, because they were old and the root systems were affecting the structural integrity of the building. Let's see what the current administration does to replace them.
October 20, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Turns out I was right about the Kennedy Center trees (see last Skeet). It was the last administration that decided to take them down, because they were old and the root systems were affecting the structural integrity of the building. Let's see what the current administration does to replace them.
When I heard the @kennedycenter.bsky.social had cut down half the trees on the terrace, I was prepared to be upset - until I looked for myself after a concert on Saturday and saw how sickly the remaining trees are looking. 54 is old for a willow. Maybe it was just their time.
October 13, 2025 at 2:50 AM
When I heard the @kennedycenter.bsky.social had cut down half the trees on the terrace, I was prepared to be upset - until I looked for myself after a concert on Saturday and saw how sickly the remaining trees are looking. 54 is old for a willow. Maybe it was just their time.
I raised a windowblind that we usually keep closed, and the cat thinks I got him a new streaming service. #catsofbluesky #cats #easilyamused
October 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I raised a windowblind that we usually keep closed, and the cat thinks I got him a new streaming service. #catsofbluesky #cats #easilyamused
Tonight: check out this webinar Greg Sandow and I are leading about singing actors, acting singers, and the myth that today's opera performances are better acted than those of the past. Register here: jussibjorlingsociety.org/events/midge...
The Myth of "Park and Bark" with Anne Midgette & Greg Sandow — Jussi Bjorling Society
Thursday, September 18, 7pm - 8:30pm EST GUEST SPEAKER SERIES WEBINAR Members - FREE Non-Members - $35 Join former Washington Post chief classical music critic Anne Midgette and composer, vet...
jussibjorlingsociety.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Tonight: check out this webinar Greg Sandow and I are leading about singing actors, acting singers, and the myth that today's opera performances are better acted than those of the past. Register here: jussibjorlingsociety.org/events/midge...
Following up on the Met Opera and the Saudis - @voiceteachernyc.bsky.social wrote a great essay with plenty of outrage to spare. blog.liberatedvoice.studio/bondage/
Bondage
Artists are, by and large, progressives. We believe in equal rights for women, civil rights for LGBTQ individuals, and fair representation on our stages. Saudi Arabia’s rulers do not, and Metropolitan...
blog.liberatedvoice.studio
September 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Following up on the Met Opera and the Saudis - @voiceteachernyc.bsky.social wrote a great essay with plenty of outrage to spare. blog.liberatedvoice.studio/bondage/
Doug McLennan once said criticism should be like a watering-hole, where people with different opinions can gather. I quote that all the time. It's not about thumbs up/down, but sparking discussion. We know there's not one "right" opinion about art; why pretend that's what criticism should offer?
September 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Doug McLennan once said criticism should be like a watering-hole, where people with different opinions can gather. I quote that all the time. It's not about thumbs up/down, but sparking discussion. We know there's not one "right" opinion about art; why pretend that's what criticism should offer?
So the Metropolitan Opera can castigate Anna Netrebko and get on its high horse about Ukraine -- and then get in bed with the Saudis? And at this point it seems everyone is too punch-drunk even to be outraged.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/a...
The Met Opera Turns to Saudi Arabia to Help Solve Its Financial Woes
www.nytimes.com
September 4, 2025 at 9:27 PM
So the Metropolitan Opera can castigate Anna Netrebko and get on its high horse about Ukraine -- and then get in bed with the Saudis? And at this point it seems everyone is too punch-drunk even to be outraged.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/a...
Peak August, unlocked. (No, I didn't bake it, but I bought it at the local orchard, which has its own virtues.)
August 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Peak August, unlocked. (No, I didn't bake it, but I bought it at the local orchard, which has its own virtues.)