"Magicienne barbare"

... is one of the milder things the critics called Anna Caterina Antonacci's first Medea at Toulouse earlier this month. If Antonacci can live up to even half this praise, I'm going to have to get a tattoo of her on my back!

"L’ardente Anna Caterina Antonacci a véritablement fait vibrer les foules toulousaines. Chanteuse impeccable, actrice enflammée mais toujours sobre, elle donne à cette Médée une impressionnante vérité des sentiments. Colère, doute, amour, elle exprime avec intensité et retenue toute la palette des passions; le magnétisme rare de sa présence noue les estomacs, serre les gorges." -- Musique Classique

"...somptueusement incarnée par Anna Caterina Antonacci d'un timbre riche au grave presque mâle qui convient parfaitement à ce personnage de femme effrayant tous les hommes. Colorant magnifiquement son chant, cette artiste présente une Medea imprévisible et dangereuse.... Immense tragédienne." -- anaclase.com

"Anna-Caterina Antonacci se jette dans la bataille de toute sa vaillance, de toute sa générosité, de toute son intelligence aussi.... A ce talent de tragédienne s'ajoute la splendeur d'une voix claire, homogène, sans faille aux extrêmes, solide jusqu'à l'invraisemblable, qui délivre au troisième acte son air final, alors que depuis le dernier tiers de l'acte un, elle n'a pas quitté la scène et a dû affronter un véritable parcours du combattant, avec un éclat souverain....Cette artiste complète et sans trucages a déchaîné au rideau final l'enthousiasme du Capitole." -- Forum Opera

"...elle se révèle ici tragédienne absolue au jeu fiévreux, charmeuse, calculatrice, désespérée, engluée dans sa démence, la voix passant sans effort apparent des murmures aux cris, coiffant les aigus qui grimpent aux cimes de duvet et de soie. Avec cette Médée qui bouleverse, Anna Caterina est devenue « la » Antonacci. Prête à entrer dans la légende." -- Le Journal des Spectacles

"Remarquable tragédienne, voix exceptionnelle, et une personnalité qui n’appartient qu’à elle : «je suis Anna Caterina Antonacci» peut-elle dire comme Médée dans la scène finale dit «je suis Médée»." -- ConcertoNet

Somebody please, please tell me there is a video of this production -- or at least a radio broadcast? (Photo by Patrice Nin.)

Vilar furore, encore

The media frenzy surrounding the arrest of Alberto Vilar continues unabated. I mean, it's like he's the Lindsay Lohan of opera. The NY Times this morning does an in-depth on the apprehended altriust, coaxing quotes out of the notoriously media-shy Beverly Sills ("He was not, how shall I say, quiet, about his giving") and Donald Trump ("There was something really missing with this guy"). The Double Ups and Downs of a Philanthropist

The Damnation of Fist

"It doesn't matter who sings what. At some point, someone's fist is up someone else's rectum." No, actually that's not a memoir of operagoing in New York in the 1970s; rather, it's Shirley Apthorp's review of Calixto Bieito's production of Verdi's Macbeth in Frankfurt.

And isn't it nice to see a story about the Metropolitan Opera make the front page of the New York Times?

Busted benefactor

Met/Kirov/Royal Opera angel Alberto Vilar was arrested last night, charged with stealing $5 million from a client. The Federal complaint states that Vilar used the investor's money "as a personal piggy bank to pay personal expenses and make charitable contributions, without the knowledge, consent, or authorization of the victim." According to the story on Bloomberg.com, Vilar was unable to raise the funds necessary to post a $10 million bond.

Did somebody say "Boo?"

A presence from beyond the grave walked out on a recital by Dame Kiri te Kanawa on Wednesday night in Edinburgh. Following one of her songs the Kiwi diva turned to the audience and asked, "Did you hear the footsteps during the last piece? They were behind me. I wanted to look round. You have a ghost."

A spokesman for the theater, presumably referring to this incident, remarked, "You could tell she was really freaked out." The ghost was unavailable for comment. Opera Star Spooked by Ghost

Deep pockets

Which artists' management company (hint: it's one of the Big Three) is in such dire financial trouble that its president is regularly forced to dip into his own (considerable) private fortune to preserve the semblance of a positive cash flow?

Which big-name stage director recently showed up for rehearsals of a complicated opera completely unfamiliar with the music, and, for that matter the text -- which is odd, since it's in his native language?

"Sorry, ah thought you said Maria CALLAS"

All right, boys, get your bold-faced fonts out. It seems that at Oprah Winfrey's "Legends Ball," none other than Leontyne Price asked specially to meet fellow guest/legend Mariah Carey. La Carey (who admits that at first she thought the diva mistook her for someone else) reports that Lee chatted with her about her music and her recent video. Who knew? The pop star (or, La Cieca guesses, her publicist) then gushed ". . . this is a woman who has made history and paved the way for just everybody." (Next, I suppose, we'll hear that Tom Cruise wants to meet David Daniels.) And, you know, it's not like Lee and Mariah were short of someone to talk to; Oprah's guest list also included Maya Angelou, Ruby Dee, Roberta Flack, Coretta Scott King, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Della Reese, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Cicely Tyson, Halle Berry and Nancy Wilson. Anyway, here's the story: MARIAH THRILLED THAT OPERA DIVA PRICE KNOWS WHO SHE IS.

Anne Midgette, opera queen?

"Something happens on the opera stage when Aprile Millo and Marcello Giordani are on it together. It may not be perfect. It may even be a little awkward at times. But it's real singing - at best, wonderful singing. And people want it." That's Anne Midgette in today's New York Times, and she's obviously as "starved" as the rest of us for operatic dementia. (There's also a fun Beth Bergman photo of the "Something Happens" duo accompanying Midgette's article.

Laugh (at, not with)

Just a reminder that some of the humor from the print version of parterre box is archived online:

New Roles for Cecilia
The Impresarios
The Ballad of Billy Budd
All About Steve
A Bitchy Class
Just Jessye!
Ain't it a pretty voice?
Valley of the Divas
The Texaco Opera Queens
Bartoli Meets Swenson
Beefcake in Opera
Ten Rules for Stage Directors
Missed Opportunities
Ten Great Awakening Scenes

Fleming cops to crooning "Manon"

Finally Renaaay has admitted what so many of us have insisted for so long: she croons, and, what's more, her Manon might sound better with electronic amplification. Oh, guess what, she yaks interminably about her jazz obsession, too, in this story.

A little more maschera

This afternoon at 1:30 EDT, a live performance of Un ballo in maschera on BBC radio from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, featuring Karita Mattila in her first production as Amelia, with Marcelo Alvarez, Thomas Hampson, Elisabetta Fiorillo and Camilla Tilling under the baton of Antonio Pappano. (This information comes from the superb resource Operacast.)

Yes, it is good to be back

You could say last night at the Met was a typical Aprile Millo performance, if that expression were not essentially an oxymoron. "Typical" and "Millo" really don't intersect in this dimension (maybe somewhere on a spiritual plane? But I digress.) Let's just say that, what happens at a Millo night, happened last night, which is to say:

People you never see at the opera were there. Like me, for example, and I actually went through the whole ritual of buying a single out in the plaza ten minutes before eight. But everybody was there, definitely a gathering-of-the clan sort of event. The fussy queens were there; I'm pretty sure I recognized at least one recent facelift. And the cute queens were there, the same ones who generally show up only for David Daniels. And, oh yes, the industry queens were there too. This was definitely the night to catch up on all the gossip, such as which manager had just thrown a hissy fit over which tenor's tardiness, yelping, "That's why I hate to work with Italian singers!"

The prima donna's entrance cued the audience not only to polite applause but shouts of "brava," and, mind you, before a note was sung. The entrance ovation went on long enough to drown the first "Perche chiuso," and when's the last time that happened? Caballe?

She wore her own dresses, or at least not the dresses that come with the production. For the record, the Act 1 frock was a throwback to the more formal pre-1964 mode, a maroon faille pelisse over rose georgette, though with mini-mantilla instead of the big Hello Dolly hat.

Instead of the Zeffirelli fire-engine red peau de soie for Act 2, Millo opted for a deep garnet silk velvet cut on Empire lines but resolutely unfrilly, practically severe by Tosca standards. Her garniture of diamonds included a tall diadem, and she accessoried with a plain gold silk damask stole and the traditional 16-button white gloves. (These were perhaps a half-size too snug and Millo flutzed a bit getting them stripped off, but she gestured with them effectively later on.)

Millo's acting is a lot more sober these days too; less fluttering in Act 1 and all night long I don't think I saw her beat her breast even once. She's plump, to be sure, but she moves with purpose and a kind of stately quality that looks appropriate on the massively oversized sets. Even when the plastique turns baroque, she believes what she's doing, and after all, Tosca isn't supposed to be a simple village maiden, is she? And if anybody can get away with moaning "mea culpa, mea culpa..." during the candle business, it has to be Millo.

It's always been a glamorous voice. These days the vibrato is looser, particularly in middle voice. I heard one or two queens use the "W" word, but I don''t think I'd go that far. What matters to me is the easy legato and natural sense of how to make the music "go," and for those qualities, Millo is unmatchable among sopranos singing Tosca today. For the record, the climactic notes of "Vissi d'arte" were frankly flat, but the money notes elsewhere, including the several high C's, hit the bullseye.

There was a lot of buzz out front about a cold, and Millo very noticeably waved a handkerchief about during Act 1, even interpolating a couple of coughs that suggested Tosca might be following in poor dear Mimi's footsteps. Then there was a really long wait for Act 2 to start once the audience was in the house, and you know La Cieca was very much dreading that the lights would come up before the curtain for an announcement. But Millo neither canceled nor asked indulgence, and I for one would never have guessed she was anywhere close to under the weather: she sounded just fine.

We all know that Millo likes to take slow phrases very slowly, sometimes to the point that she has to sneak in an additional breath. And so the last thing she needs is a a tentative and passive conductor like Derrick Inouye, who allowed the performance to stagnate like a bad Pelleas. Actually is was worse than that. Imagine Pelleas actually conducting a performance; that's how aimless and inert this show sounded. This guy makes Nello Santi seem positively perky. Let's hope he gets his act together or at least asserts himself a bit before the park performances begin.

You know, it's amazing how incredible Marcello Giordani can sound when he's given a real role to sing instead of all that Pirata/Benvenuto Cellini freaky repertoire. The nerves or allergies or whatever it was that made the Pirata so erratic (though always thrilling!) have been worked out; he's singing like a god these days. The easiest, most brilliant high B on "la vita mi costasse" La Cieca has ever heard; I was honestly surprised that there was no burst of applause after the "Vittoria" in Act 2. (But, then, nobody applauds much of anything any more, not even when Butterfly sees the ship.)

Now, what I just don't get is why the Met falls all over itself finding opportunities for Salvatore Licitra who thus far in New York has given approximately one really good performance (Forza with Collegiate Chorale), but, until now, anyway, keeps Giordani in the High D Ghetto. How about Faust, at least? Or Lucia, even? Or Werther? (We do get both Ernani and Manon Lescaut in 07-08, so that's certainly heading in the right direction. Met, you go on like this.)

Full disclosure here: La Cieca had to leave after the second act, and now she could kick herself for missing what was described as the house coming down after "E lucevan le stelle." But, as she was saying before, at least she's found the will to go back to the opera house; performers like Millo and Giordani are what make it "worth for."

Take my wife, please!

Which intendant-to-be is gaining a nasty reputation for nepotism, as in forcing his wife's baton down the throat of opera companies afraid to incur his wrath? This kind of behavior ought to send up a red flag... or at least a yellow one.

Pole dancing

The Met's so-called "Millo Pole" will no doubt tonight be swarming with cognoscenti, or as we like to call them around here, opera queens. Aprile Millo sings her only staged Tosca of the Met's season, and that's reason enough to shlep over to Lincoln Center. (Millo had a big personal success in Ballo last month, and she's scheduled to do the Roman diva in the parks beginning June 14. Sadly, there were not that many occasions that could draw me into the Met (or any other opera house) under my own power this season. Lately, La Cieca's attitude has been sort of "is that all there is?" Oh, well, maybe hearing Millo, followed by some compare-and-contrast, will give me a clearer idea why nothing these days seems to have the old sacro fuoco. (Well, besides this, anyway!) See you at the Pole!

Name brands

Il Gran Teatro della Cieca proudly presents Above the Title: Operatic Superstar as Protagonist. This program features five complete live performances: La Fille du Regiment (Beverly Sills), Salome (Gwyneth Jones), Don Carlo (Franco Corelli), Die Walkuere (Kirsten Flagstad) and Madama Butterfly (Montserrat Caballe).

• Listen to the program
• Read more details

Don't touch that dial

Coming up this weekend on "Il Gran Teatro della Cieca," an all-new, all-recorded-live program of opera. You'll hear complete performances of La Fille du regiment, Salome, Don Carlo, Die Walkuere and Madama Butterfly, with the title roles taken by Beverly Sills, Gwyneth Jones, Franco Corelli, Kirsten Flagstad and Montserrat Caballe (respectively!)

In the meantime, do take this final opportunity to catch "The Art of Virginia Zeani," continuing until early Friday morning.

And this one goes out to...

La Cieca hopes you enjoy her radio show (currently featuring an all-Virginia Zeani program) and would like to know: what do you want to hear on "Il Gran Teatro della Cieca?" Complete operas? Highlights? A concert by "Il Divo?" Email your suggestions to parterrebox@aol.com.

Life's a banquet ...

Well, La Cieca thinks that Jane Eaglen must be a hell of a wonderful colleague, or is it that she has a mortgage payment due on her Seattle condo? Whatever the reason, the Brit Brunnhilde is (you should pardon the expression) jumping in for an ailing Susan Marie Pierson in tonight's performance of Fidelio at Pittsburgh Opera. La Cieca supposes that, in the words of Auntie Mame, "When you're from Pittsburgh, you have to do something!"

As if he never said goodbye

La Cieca hears (from sometimes reliable internet snitch Tony Soprano) that Matthew Epstein will make a triumpant return to the 15% biz in general and Columbia Artists Management in particular. Expect an announcement (from someone besides Tony, that is) sometime next week. Glad to see that someone knows his correct Fach!

In completely unrelated news, an Oslo court has ruled that striptease is an art, just like opera. Doesn't it just figure that this would happen right after they closed down the Gaiety?

Into the 21st century

La Cieca abandons HTML today and shifts to a blog-driven site. She's hoping that the easier interface will mean more frequent and timely updates, but I guess you'll be the judge of that!

A rave review for last night's Ballo at the Met from the hard-to-please Charlie Handelman, in particular Miss Millo and Mr. Giordani tickled his fancy.

Don't worry: the old La Cieca columns will still be online here.

And now, on this lovely May morning, a moment of nostalgia for that time when we all were young.