Headshot of La Cieca

Cher Public

  • ljushuvud: Moderation? 2:27 PM
  • Liz.S: It’s going to be on demand for a while, but there’s also Giulio Cesare video streaming from... 2:18 PM
  • Camille: Patrick Mack—- Operatic wasteland? How is that? You should have been there in the sixties and... 2:16 PM
  • Camille: And the fourth(!) time it WAS Matos and we got to meet you, caro Ercole, a pleasure we hope to have... 1:54 PM
  • La Cieca: Says Kaufmann, “It was my intention to stay in the Trojans, but at the last minute I... 1:50 PM
  • Ercole Farnese: Well, the first time was to review. Free ticket, and I was there on assignment. The second time I... 1:37 PM
  • Buster: Deborah Voigt makes her Belgian debut(!) as Minnie in Liège next season. With Carl Tanner as Dick, and... 1:37 PM
  • mrmyster: Here is another kitchen opera: Der Rosenkavalier, Zurich Opra, set Act II in the von Faninal kitchen.... 1:36 PM

+ Comments feed

Questo popoloso deserto

by | 4:41 pm | Jul 31, 2007

As if opera weren’t dead enough already, this latest news is sure to finish pounding the stake through its heart. Paris Hilton (strike one!) has been signed for a leading role in the film version of Repo! The Genetic Opera. In this futuristic musical fantasy, La Hilton plays the daughter of organ-transplant tycoon Paul Sorvino (strike two!). The film is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, best known for helming sequels in the Saw horror series (strike three!) Ms. Hilton, interviewed at an event called “Feed the Models, Save the World,” commented, “I’ve been rehearsing every day—seven hours a day. We’re just in the studio. We’re doing dance and singing. We go shoot next month in Toronto.”
7 Comments

Le belting

by | 2:05 pm | Jul 29, 2007

Régine Crespin does her “New York has neon, Berlin has bars” routine on a French variety TV show “Palmarès des chansons” circa 1967. She sings her version of one of the greatest hits of the evergreen entertainer Mistinguett, the chanson “C’est vrai!”.

A video excerpt of this performance (featuring Mme. Crespin “entourée de danseurs avec plumes”) may be found on the Place aux Chansons website.

32 Comments

Dutch treat

by | 4:20 pm | Jul 28, 2007

To wind up this summer’s Wagner festival on Unnatural Acts of Opera, La Cieca plans to play the composer’s first “canonical” opera, Der Fliegende Hollander. But which live performance, she wonders. That’s where you come in, cher public. La Cieca lists below a selection of exciting live Hollanders, and you get to vote on which you would most like to hear. Voting will be open until 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 28, at which time La Cieca will declare a winner and proceed to post the performance.

UPDATE: Voting is now closed, and the winner is the 1955 Knappertsbusch performance from Bayreuth. Here is the final tally:

Be sure to listen in to this special “democratic” edition of Unnatural Acts of Opera.
24 Comments
Read more »

Judgment at Nuremberg

by | 12:16 am | Jul 28, 2007

Well, this is what La Cieca gathers from Katharina Wagner‘s production of Die Meistersinger (without, of course, having had the benefit of actually seeing it!) KW’s basic idea is that Great-grandfather Richard presented an overly optimistic view of the dramatic action of the opera. Walther is taught by Hans Sachs to moderate his radical musical ideas by adopting traditional forms; that way his music can be understood by his audience. KW sees this compromise as a sellout, so she depicts the climactic singing contest satirically, as an “American Idol” hypefest. Walther basically grows out of his rebellious phase (e.g., splashing [...]

Read more »

5 Comments
Read more »

The critics rave, or at least they make loud noises

by | 1:20 pm | Jul 27, 2007

A few selections from The Opera Critic, demonstrating that great minds do not always etc. etc. That is, assuming you believe that British critics count as “great minds.”

Read more »

34 Comments
Read more »

Das Traumboot

by | 9:05 pm | Jul 26, 2007

Bayreuth scion-apparent Katharina Wagner‘s production of Die Meistersinger opened yesterday at the Festspielhaus. As you can see, this production is rather curiously cast with David Beckham as Walther and Aprile Millo as Eva. Oh, well, all right, La Cieca must have her little joke, you know. The tenor is in fact Klaus Florian Vogt, whom many of you heard sing Lohengrin at the Met back in 2006, and, if this photo is anything like accurate, is indeed the “Traumboot” above referenced. Now, be honest, cher public. If you saw this fellow approaching on a boat, would you even notice that [...]

Read more »

19 Comments
Read more »

All about Ewa

by | 1:43 pm | Jul 26, 2007

Our editor JJ‘s review of the Caramoor concert performance of Il trovatore (featuring Ewa Podlés as Azucena) is in the current issue of Gay City News. And for those of you who long for the gay stereotypes of yore, please note that this opera review is currently the most popular story on GCN’s site, beating out items on Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler, Barack Obama, and even Jim Naugle, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale!

Read more »

1 Comment
Read more »

Wayback machine

by | 11:20 am | Jul 25, 2007

To while away the tedious time of waiting for the next season of Metropolitan Opera HD transmissions, here’s a montage recalling the first two decades (1977-1998) of “Live from the Met” and “Metropolitan Opera Presents” telecasts: This YouTube video originated on the MetManiac site back in 1998.

Read more »

30 Comments
 
  Older Entries »