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La Cieca is just so excited about the new youtube capability that she wants you, cher public, to get in on the act. Do you have a favorite operatic video clip you would like to share with the world (well, with the readers of parterre.com, which amounts to everyone in the world that matters)? Just email La Cieca and she’ll arrange to get the clip posted right here on the parterre homepage. What’s in it for you? Well, other than the glory (and glory is nothing to be sniffed at!), the source of every video La Cieca uses will be sent a La Cieca’s Greatest Hits CD; best video of the month gets an historical opera DVD!

So, what kind of video are we talking about? Something rare and not commerically available that you VCRed or Tivoed, or a snippet you sneaked on camcorder or cell phone, such as:

Leonie Rysanek in film clips spanning 35 years of her career: Die Aegyptische Helena, Der Fliegende Hollaender, Die Walkuere, Salome, Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Cavalleria Rusticana, Parsifal, Elektra, and Jenufa. More video.

According to playbillarts.com, Deborah Voigt will appear on 60 Minutes this Sunday to discuss weight loss, career and such. UPDATE: the 60 Minutes piece is now online.

“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.

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.)

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 Veasey, Robert Tear and Don Garrard. This week’s youtube video clip (also to be found on the “Unnatural” page) is from Lucia di Lammermoor, starring Renata Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi. Unnatural Acts of Opera

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.

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.