Headshot of La Cieca

Cher Public

  • oedipe: You are right, I almost forgot! Though -as she is the one and only and way past sale by date, whereas... 5:13 AM
  • armerjacquino: Apart from the fact that the singer he originally cast is French. 4:51 AM
  • oedipe: That’s why she is moving on to French roles, which ANYBODY can sing. Of course, it would never occur... 4:23 AM
  • Feldmarschallin: What a surprise this morning when I was listening to Bayern 4 Klassik at 7 and they bring a... 2:39 AM
  • antikitschychick: This was a smart move…if anything a definitive attempt to distance himself from the... 12:38 AM
  • antikitschychick: ITA. Very well-put. As Cieca incisively noted, debacles/decisions like these are not just about... 12:20 AM
  • antikitschychick: Manou, your wit is boundless!! This has truly made me LMAO!! 11:34 PM
  • Bosah: Very glad to hear that. Thanks for the information. 11:34 PM

Enchanted April

Karita Mattila, bottomBeginning April 1, San Francisco Opera will begin broadcasting its regular season again for the first time since 1982. The opener is Manon Lescaut featuring Karita Mattila as the notorious party girl.

Says General Manager David Gockley, “After decades with no regular broadcast series, this is truly a landmark announcement for San Francisco Opera. Through these broadcasts, audiences in the Bay Area, across the United States, and internationally will have the opportunity to experience the great performances that San Francisco Opera is producing.”

Following programs through November include Orleanskaya Deva (Dolora Zajick), Tristan und Isolde (Thomas Moser, Christine Brewer), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Nathan Gunn), Un ballo in maschera (Deborah Voigt), Don Giovanni (Mariusz Kwiecien) and Der Rosenkavalier (Joyce DiDonato, Soile Isokoski). Broadcasts may be heard on SF’s own KDFC and on the WFMT network. More details.

Je marche sur tous les chemins

“Move as little as possible when performing practical or enticing actions. For example, if you wish to look over at something or someone, move your eyes first until they cannot move any more, then move your head, then your torso and adjust your lower body last and only when necessary.” At long last, you too can learn How to Walk Like a Diva. (For a practical demonstration of the results of these 10 easy steps, take a look at what La Cieca posted earlier this month.)

Will work for feud

The latest episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera episode offers, in addition to the second part of Gluck’s Armide, the long-awaited return of Apocryphal Opera Anecdote Theater. Our drama this time is based on the real-life story of a feud between two of opera’s most celebrated divas!

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Le mot du jour

On Torsten Kerl in Die Aegyptische Helena: “The role, as we all know, is unsingable, and so unsing it he did.” — Maury D’Annato, My Favorite Intermissions.

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Scandalize my name

Longtime friend of the ‘box Joe Conda sends La Cieca a new and exciting example of Filth: Caro nome.

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Most grating

Many tears will be shed in heaven today by Nellie Melba, Claudia Muzio, Lotte Lehmann, Adelina Patti and (we suppose) the young Jill Gomez, since none of them made the list of “The 20 Greatest Sopranos of All Time” featured in the April issue of BBC Music. (Don’t bother to click on that link, since the content isn’t online.) The magazine’s panel of “experts” selected the following 20 divas in ascending order of greatness: 20. Elly Ameling19. Rosa Ponselle18. Renata Tebaldi17. Christine Brewer16. Elisabeth Schumann15. Karita Mattila14. Gundula Janowitz13. Galina Vishnevskaya12. Régine Crespin11. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf10. Emma Kirkby9. Kirsten Flagstad8. Margaret [...]

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Whatever happened to…

Tiziana Fabbricini? Well, in the words of Charlie Handelman: Mamma mia! What a “Mamma morta!”

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At a glance

The 2007-2008 Met season, with casting, all in one place. (Though the Met’s own site is very nearly as handy — by far the earliest the company has ever presented repertoire and casting information.) La Cieca would also venture an opinion that next season threatens a rather lower percentage of “why bother” nights, and certainly a steep increase in dementia opportunities.

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