December 2007
From the 1978 film of Götz Friedrich‘s production of Tannhäuser — alas, not currently available on DVD. Dame Gwyneth Jones is the lady asking the rather personal question.
At yesterday’s matinee Hansel and Gretel at the Met (broadcast and simulcast), a disgruntled audience member expresses his distaste for the “forest” setting, just as Lisette Oropesa makes her entrance as the Dew Fairy. Top marks to Ms. Oropesa not only for singing her solo so enchantingly, but for continuing without a flinch despite the…
A number of the cher public have asked for more photos of hunkalicious Jonas Kaufmann, with a several of you specifially requesting a image without the tenor’s accustomed facial stubble. Well, one of La Cieca’s dear readers has obliged by sending a snapshot of Kaufmann before he stopped shaving, or possibly before he even started…
Pint-sized Broadway dynamo Kristen Chenoweth will make her fully-staged role debut as Cunegonde in Candide at the English National Opera this summer. The Bernstein/Wilbur, Latouche, Parker, Hellman, Sondheim, Bernstein & Wheeler operetta will be performed in the Robert Carsen production previously seen at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris and La Scala, Milan. Performances begin June…
Graefin Geschwitz meets Vera Charles
Jummy Jonas Kaufmann records his recital CD Romantic Arias, due for release in March.
“As implied by the title, this collection probes deeply into Wagner’s vast Ring…. Among the highlights is the revealing chapter on the many characters than Wagner has managed to cram into his Ring. Also covered are the brass instruments that Wagner designed specifically for use within his Ring.” The infelicitous title of this musiciological study…
On New Year’s Day, WNET/Channel 13 will broadcast all six operas comprising the first season of Met HD simulcasts. As you stagger home from your year-end revels, you can tune in to The First Emperor at 5:00 AM, followed by I puritani at 8:00 and Il barbiere di Siviglia at 11:00. Following a nice long…
Ageless Reri Grist sings “Somewhere” in a rehearsal for the 19th Annual Gypsy of the Year Competition, celebrated earlier this month. La Grist introduced this song 50 seasons ago when West Side Story premiered on Broadway. She is joined in this clip by Chita Rivera, Carol Lawrence and other members of the original company.
A concert in Vienna, 2006.
While we’re waiting for the restoration of Stephen Costello‘s ringing rendition of “O Holy Night,” La Cieca thought you might like to hear another great American tenor’s take on the classic carol.
The saga of the peripatetic New York City Opera continues. According to a story in today’s New York Times (another Saturday newsdump! Well, at least someone has figured out how the media works here in the city!) Anyway, according to this NYT story, Gérard Mortier is kicking around a few ideas for keeping the NYCO…
UPDATE: The YouTube clip of Stephen Costello singing “O Holy Night” is no longer available. Given Stephen’s ubiquity on YouTube, though, surely it can’t be long before another performance of this song goes live, and La Cieca promises to link as soon as her veritable army of sources inform her. In the meantime, here’s another…
“Starring Leona Mitchell (star of the Metropolitan Opera and other major opera houses around the world) and Sarah Rice (the original Johanna in SWEENEY TODD on Broadway), Leona & Sarah, Songs for the Heart & Soul. These two friends join their thrilling voices in an evening of songs, melodie, chanson and an aria or two,…
Cher public, La Cieca meant to turn in early tonight, but she got one of those bees in her bonnet. This particular specimen of Apis mellifera is the “debacle” (as La Cieca has been astonished to see it termed) of Anna Netrebko‘s Juliette last Saturday afternoon. Such harsh criticism La Cieca has rarely heard since…
If, through some miracle of recombinant DNA manipulation, Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh and Maria Montez were to have a child together, La Cieca is certain this is how she (or he, for that matter) would turn out.
Imagine La Cieca’s delight when she heard that Julia Roberts has been cast in the starring role of Voce di Donna, a biopic based upon the whirlwind adventures of your very own doyenne. Oscar-winner Roberts (left) beat out A-listers Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon and Dame Judi Dench to portray “Older Cieca.” The character in more…
A reader writes… Dear La Cieca: I found your site through a Google search because I am trying to track down contact information for Felicia Weathers. So imagine my pleasure at the clip of “Up, Up and Away”! In 1969 I had the good fortune to play “Trouble” to Felicia Weathers’ “Cio-Cio San” in a…
You, the cher public, have spoken. By a firm plurality of 31%, you have selected Renata Scotto‘s Lady Macbeth as the “encore” to her Adriana Lecouvreur on the current episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera. Of the 238 ballots cast, the Scottish dame garnered 74 votes. Runners-up were Norma (50 votes) and Elisabetta in Don…
Same character, same opera, different productions. Guesses?
“At High School of Enterprise, Business and Technology on Grand Street Campus in Brooklyn, the show is sold out at nearly 1000 tickets. The school didn’t spare any effort in terms of marketing: there’s a huge color banner for ‘Live in HD’ on the side of the building, facing Bushwick Avenue, with a picture of…
Stephanie Blythe sings Ulrica in the Met’s revival of Un ballo in maschera.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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