January 2006
UPDATED January 12: The legendary Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson died on December 25, it was announced yesterday. She was 87. La Cieca will present a special episode of “Unnatural Acts of Opera” tonight in salute to Mme. Nilsson. Birgit Nilsson as Isolde, Metropolitan Opera, 1971 Once Birgit Nilsson was negotiating a contract with Herbert von…
UPDATE: Not surprisingly, the “Dirty Colin” site was taken down almost immediately. So, until the coveted tape emerges, here’s a little something to help you keep the thought: Colin Farrell on Bruce Willis. Here’s news that should delight all you Nathan Gunn fans. The long-awaited Colin Farrell sex video has finally been released, or (La…
Soprano Mariella Devia — who La Cieca thought was such a sweet ingenue type — turns tigress for the title role of Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti). This live performance from 2003 also features Daniela Barcellona (Maffio Orsini), Marcelo Alvarez (Gennaro) and Michele Pertusi (Don Alfonso, Duca di Ferrara) under the baton of Renato Palumbo. The Prologue…
La Cieca wishes a very happy 80th birthday to Evelyn Lear, heard recently on Unnatural Acts of Opera singing “The Boy from Ipanema.” Another sample of her vast range of artistry can be found here, in her performance of the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin at the San Francisco Opera in October 1971.
La Cieca hears that the Met has promised Renee Fleming a production of Rossini’s Armida in 2010-2011. The five years advance notice should allow plenty of time to complete all the necessary tranpositions to the score, and no doubt the ultra-busy diva is already figuring out how she will balance rehearsals against quality time with…
A double-header of Tony Tommasini delights this weekend in the Times. On Sunday, TT puts on his Captain Obvious hat to ask the musical question, “is it possible that [Nathan] Gunn‘s appearance has drawn attention away from his fine vocal artistry?” You’ll find that story right next to the photograph of Gunn with his shirt…
With the new year always come new year’s resolutions, and La Cieca thinks that this year her resolution will be to stop making snap judgments. La Cieca hopes you understand that she only got into the habit of making all those snap judgments because she is right almost all of the time. But now and…
Congratulations to the Met’s Joe Volpe, who has successfully postponed lame duck status by wangling $25 million — real money, not pledges, and relatively few strings attached — from socialite Mercedes Bass and her husband Sid R. Bass. Mrs. Bass, who looks simply smashing in the photo accompanying the New York Times piece, made tactful…
We here at parterre.com would like to offer our condolences to Matthew Polenzani and his wife on their recent loss. Though we don’t know the Polenzanis personally, his singing has given us a lot of pleasure in recent years, and we sincerely hope that once his mourning is completed, he will return quickly to the…
Scuttlebutt from the Met says that Angela Gheorghiu hankers to sing Strauss’s Salome — though presumably she would workshop the role in a more friendly venue first. In other whisperings, La Cieca has heard that Peter Gelb is currently ensconced in the office once occupied by Beverly Sills. Apparently he’s to remain there until the…
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
×
Sign up for Parterre’s free newsletter.
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.