In yet another dazzling example of counter-intuitive programming, the New York City Opera has decided to exhume their quarter-century old ticky-tacky Hal Prince staging of that overexposed snoozefest Candide to replace their scuttled new production of Ragtime. (Gee, how long is it since we last heard Candide here in New York? It must be twenty minutes at least.) If La Cieca didn’t know better, she’d think Paul Kellogg was trying to bring the company crashing down (a sort of sound-enhanced Götterdämmerung) before that meanie Mortier can get his hands on it…
So now it seems there may be a season for Opera Orchestra of New York next year after all. But keep in mind that word “may” because it’s not a lock yet. In an email to supporters, Eve Queler says that she and the other OONies “are currently devoted to assuring you a splendid season. We have received major commitments from our supporters, and expect that additional sources will soon permit us to commit to the full season.” She asks that audiences save the dates for December 13, 2007, February 27, 2008 and March 6, 2008, when, if all goes well, the group will present I due Foscari (with Dimitri Hvorostovsky?), La sonnambula (Eglise Gutierrez , Dimitry Korchak) and a gala concert.
Hunka hunka burning tenor Darío Volonté jumped into San Diego Opera’s production of Il trovatore last night, replacing Nicola Rossi Giordano as Manrico. (Does Rossi Giordano ever actually sing anywhere? All La Cieca has ever heard about is his cancellations.) Anyway, this is Mr. Volonté’s second time out with SDO, following up on his Calaf in 2004.
The Argentine tenor’s Dick Johnson (the role, La Cieca means! Stop it!) can be readily found for downloading and enjoyment on the various opera share sites. Meanwhile, why isn’t this guy singing at the Met?
Il trovatore runs through April 4 at San Diego Opera.
Even as she toys with the idea of yet another emergence from semi-retirement, Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh is divesting herself of some of her most celebrated frocks. An Ebay auction continuing through March 27 offers such cult couture as the Manon “St. Sulpice” gown and an argentate mantle worn by Madame’s hysterically hieratic Turandot. Also included are a pair of pink chiffon and marabou confections (sizes Large and Enormous) suitable for your next Dreamgirls theme party, and a Merry Widow ballgown originally worn by none other than Roberta Peters!
Our editor JJ‘s busy week included a review of the Met’s Aegyptische Helena in Gay City News, and that panel La Cieca has been yammering about all week. As his presentation on the topic “Opera and Technology,” JJ introduced this little documentary about your own La Cieca.
La Cieca has just been informed that soprano Mary Dunleavy will participate in tonight’s panel discussion “Opera and Technology” at The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University. No word on whether La Dunleavy replaces or supplements the previously announced Lucy Shelton. Our own JJ will be there of course, along with a veritable constellation of opera pundits: Elena Park, Editorial and Creative Content, The Metropolitan Opera; Beth Greenberg, stage director, New York City Opera; Wayne Koestenbaum, poet and writer; and Anne Midgette, critic, The New York Times. That’s tonight at 7:30 PM, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue (between [...]
From today’s Daily News coverage of Naomi Campbell‘s community service: “Decked out in a pencil skirt, leather trench coat and cloche hat, the supermodel sure knows how to make sweeping the floor look good every day of the week. “On Monday, she opted for Christian Louboutin boots, an Azzedine Alaia coat and Chanel cap, while on Tuesday she rocked a chinchilla bomber and fedora. Fashion fans are surely waiting avidly for what the catwalker will step out in next. They’re also saving their pennies to bid on their favorite Sanitation Naomi outfit – Campbell is auctioning off all the work [...]
Operatic trailblazer Kiri te Kanawa has won yet another victory for every soprano who doesn’t really feel all that much like singing anyway. The Kiwi canary testified that it was only after agreeing to appear on a concert program with veteran pop icon John Farnham that she discovered that some of his fans expressed their enthusiasm by throwing their panties onstage. The diva, noting that Farnham collected the frilly underthings “as a sort of trophy,” sniffed that she would find performing in such a milieu “disrespectful.” Dame Kiri is pictured at right performing a scene from Mozart’s Don Giovanni with [...]
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