In the summer of 2022, a second-hand bookshop in Oslo was having its closing sale. In the very back, past the classical music biographies and encyclopedias, Aksel found The Metropolitan Opera Cookbook (1988). He dropped everything and took to Twitter, and a few weeks later, amid Kevin’s transatlantic move to New York City, they once again found themselves cooking operatically.

To continue reading, subscribe now.

Unlimited access to our
weekly issues and archives.

Already have an account?

Login here

…writes about classical music and science, and is currently based in New York.

Aksel Tollåli is a musicologist and critic living in Oslo. He regularly writes for Norwegian outlets such as Scenekunst.no and the newspaper Aftenposten.