Now, you really didn’t think La Cieca would let the occasion of Maria Guleghina‘s first Met Norma go unmarked, did you? Oh, please, don’t be ridic, cher public! Surely the ascent of la Guleghina to the summit of bel canto is an experience that must be enjoyed communally. And since La Cieca has no intention of actually being in the theater for this event, she wants to invite you, you and most particulary you to join her for another edition of La Cieca’s Opera Chat. The chat room “La Foresta d’Irminsul” will open at 7:15 p.m. on Monday, November 26 for the 7:30 curtain of Norma as broadcast on Sirius. Please check back on parterre.com on Monday for a link to “La Foresta d’Irminsul.”
In an unreleased track from Cecilia Bartoli‘s new “Maria
In less aesthetically pleasing news, a photo of la Bartoli that should have remained unreleased instead currently graces Opera Chic.
La Cieca’s all-time favorite soprano, Renata Scotto, in one of her greatest roles, Adriana Lecouvreur — if you can think of an operatic experience to rival it, La Cieca hopes you will let her know what you’re having! La Scotto is heard in her first Adriana Lecouvreur, from San Francisco in 1977, partnered by Elena Obraztsova , Giacomo Aragall and Giuseppe Taddei under the baton of Gianandrea Gavazzeni. The first act of the Cilea weepy is the centerpiece of the current episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera, but is La Cieca satisfied? Hardly! Bonus features include rare early recordings of Scotto singing Bellini arias (I Capuleti e i Montecchi and I puritani) and your doyenne’s admittedly somewhat vague reminiscences of the glory that was San Francisco gay life in the seventies.
You know that Vivaldi opera everyone’s been talking about? (Yeah, La Cieca realizes that sentence looks absurd, but read on.) Anyway, here’s the already infamous nude scene for tenor Zachary Stains from the opera Ercole sul Termodonte, or, as it is more generally known in this country, “Hercules versus the Dental Hygienist.” (NSFW, obviously, since Mr. Stains’ “original instrument” is clearly visible.)
Not the newest observation, but perhaps relevant again at the moment. So, tell me, what do these two ladies have in common (besides the family resemblance, of course)? [UPDATE: I've traded out the original image of Joyce Castle for something more representative.]
Another challenge from La Cieca: who is this Miss Lucy? The cher public will make their educated guesses in the comments section, please.
“Soprano Lauren Flanigan turned her vaunted acting skills to the task of portraying the sophisticated allure of Vanessa, hampered more than a little by a stiff auburn wig and dowdy costumes that left her looking like Nellie Oleson’s mother. Happily, on November 8, Flanigan was in superb voice, sailing fearlessly up to fiery high B’s and C’s and plunging into a well-projected chest register.” Our Own JJ reviews NYCO’s Vanessa and Cendrillion for Gay City News. Please do try to forgive the weird é characters that somehow crept into the text; the editors at GCN are working on transforming them [...]
“And so for you opera trivia lovers out there, you’ll be interested to know that the outfit ‘Octavian’ was wearing for the 2007 Tucker Gala’s ‘Presentation of the Rose’ was actually the outfit the ‘Sophie’ wore to the theater that night! Diana [Damrau] actually gave me the clothes off her back, right down to her shoes, and THAT, ladies and gentlemen, was my first outfit!” That’s Joyce DiDonato blogging, and this opera trivia lover will check in daily for further updates. The lady writes as well as she sings!
Cher Public