parterre box

La Cieca has just heard that Jossie Perez has been canned from the prima of the Met’s new production of Romeo et Juliette. A source at the company says that the mezzo was protested by maestro Bertrand de Billy. The plum of singing the trouser role of Stephano on the opening night goes to Joyce DiDonato, who saved the Met’s bacon earlier this month when she agreed on short notice to stand by for the ailing Olga Borodina in La Cenerentola.

DiDonato reportedly will take home an extra-fat paycheck for learning Stephano on short notice and singing the first two performances. Romeo opens two weeks from Monday, and Perez rejoins the cast on November 21. No word yet who will jump into DiDonato’s Cherubino performances between now and then.

“Newcomers to opera sometimes don’t get the appeal of a dramatic form with so few surprises. Audiences know how Tosca ends before the performance even begins. Earlier this month, though, two operas provided some measure of suspense.” JJ’s latest reviews in Gay City News.

So it seems Opera Ireland was shipping sets and costumes for a borrowed Traviata production from Germany to Dublin. A routine customs check of the hoopskirts and chaises longues turned up an interesting if non-traditional prop: a 6 kilo bag of cocaine worth about half a million Euros. Since this was not a Christopher Alden production, the customs officials concluded that the drugs didn’t belong in Traviata and so must be evidence of smuggling. According to Ireland On-Line, Director of Opera Ireland David Calopy complained that his troupe, in residence at the aptly-named Gaiety Theatre, “were now in a very difficult position because the theatre company needs the goods that remain impounded for their upcoming season.” Believe me, Mr. Calopy, La Cieca feels your pain.