parterre box

“Pampered” Australian sheep who listen to opera have (once again!) produced the world’s finest wool. Rumors from Salzburg suggest the parting of the ways with Renee Fleming was not so amicable as we are led to believe: the word La Cieca keeps hearing is “Scheissdosende.” (Well, actually, she just invented that word, but it sums up the feeling at the Mozarteum.) Oh, and latest word from backstage is: Domingo “wants” to sing the broadcast of Cyrano, but nobody’s betting on it.

Read more »

According to playbill.com, Cecilia Bartoli is replacing Renée Fleming in Salzburg’s all-star concert celebrating the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth on January 27. It seems Renaaay demurred from singing the concert aria “Ch’io mi scordi di te” for “vocal reasons.” (Good to hear it wasn’t because she had objections to the text or anything.) Bartoli will also sing the rest of Fleming’s program (Oh, snap!) consisting of “Exsultate, jubilate” and “Là ci darem la mano.” (Unfortunately, this turn of events means that Ms. Bartoli will not be available to substitute for Placido Domingo in the Met’s Cyrano.)

Read more »

Ah, the 1960s! Corelli and Nilsson in Turandot! Tebaldi in Gioconda! Freni‘s debut! Milanov‘s farewell! Beverly‘s breakthrough Giulio Cesare! The two-night blizzard testing the loyalties of the standees queued for Maria‘s return to the Met! (And let’s not forget the war in Vietnam, LSD, and the miniskirt!) By an odd coincidence, La Cieca’s podcast and video offerings this week both date back to the year 1967, and, so far as she knows, neither acid nor minis are involved. On “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” we present the soundtrack of a BBC telecast of Eugene Onegin starring Margaret Price, John Shirley-Quirk, Josephine [...]

Read more »

La Cieca can’t, at this stage, direct her questions to the source of this item, but at least one Met insider at the Met is whispering that Placido Domingo will cancel some (if not all) of his performances in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac beginning Thursday. UPDATE: The cover (who sang the closed dress rehearsal on Monday) is Antonio Barasorda. At this moment, the Met’s website still lists Domingo for all performances. SECOND UPDATE (1/26, 12:15 PM): Barasorda is now listed on the cast page for tonight’s Cyrano.

Read more »

Stephen Costello is ear-candy too: here he is singing “Torna ai felici di” from Puccini’s Le villi. Care to hear him sing the whole opera? Then tune in on Sunday, January 29 to a webcast from wrti.org featuring The Academy of Vocal Arts’ production of Le villi as the second half of a double bill. The curtain-raiser, La Navarraise, will begin at 3:00 p.m., with the Puccini starting, oh, sort of 4:15-ish.

Read more »

Fanny Brice burlesques an operatic diva.

Read more »

“Her quirky personality shines through once she gets to know you . . . . In the home, she is very sweet and quite affectionate, however she is not clingy or needy for your undivided attention at all times . . . . She’s not a hyper or noisy girl, but she has a wealth of energy and stamina and she loves to go for long walks in the park . . . . All she needs now is someone to whom she can give all that love and devotion. All she wants is someone to love her and spend [...]

Read more »