La Cieca hears from several authoritative sources that Diana Damrau will sing the autumn revival of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met, replacing the gravid Anna Netrebko. Read more »
Here’s a rousing opening number by the original company of The Sound of Music. At about 3:33 it’s hard to miss a very familiar face.
Stay with the video even after glimpsing our surprise religieuse for an earful of Patrica Neway’s “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” with more than enough vocal goods to compensate for the “Queen Aggravain” makeup.
This is one of a multitude of video excerpts from Broadway shows compiled at bluegobo.com.
“Obama, tall and handsome and blessed with a weighty baritone…” Newsweek
Salon, always on the lookout for a story with a hook, posits that “there is something in the very essence of Obama’s voice — its tone, its timbre, its resonance” that inspires trust. Read more »
Calixo Bieito? Over! Peter Konwitschny? Yesterday’s news! And David McVicar? Head for the showers! The new home of cutting-edge Regie is in little Seattle, my god, and who could have devised so utterly innovative and openly homoerotic take on Salome? Our Own Wenarto, of course! Read more »
From the Vienna State Opera in January 1988, the first part of the Rossini opera you, cher public, chose: Il viaggio a Reims. Among the all-star cast in this episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera: Read more »
From Franco Corelli: Prince of Tenors
The battle between tenor and conductor reached a climax when Cillario denied Franco his ovation at the end of “E lucevan le stelle.” An infuriated Corelli flipped his overlong thumb to his teeth in disgust and ran offstage. The audience was left stunned, the orchestra still playing the ascending scale leading to Tosca’s entrance, and Tosca herself bursting on stage to find it empty and the audience buzzing around in a mini uproar. Backstage, Chapin saw Corelli screaming at Charlie Riecker, teeth clenched, eyes bulging. There was no time for discussion. Chapin grabbed Corelli and pushed him back on the stage, where he resumed his role.
The cher public have spoken, and their chosen Rossini oeuvre, to be featured on the next Unnatural Acts of Opera, is… Read more »
Electric Elaine Eliane Coelho chews the scenery, leaves blood on the stage, and if there are any pregnant women in the audience, probably turns their fetuses gay right on the spot, all in just one scene from the gloriously gory melodrama from Carlos Gomes, Maria Tudor.
Since YouTube embedding is acting a little odd this morning, La Cieca will link directly to the video’s YouTube page.
According to the synopsis of the plot of Maria Tudor, at this moment Queen Maria has just discovered that her lover Fabio Fabiani has been disguising himself as a simple student in order to seduce a local village maiden. Maria the woman seeks no punishment of her unfaithful lover, but Maria the Queen cannot tolerate such blatant plagiarism of the plot of Rigoletto.
La Coelho’s complete performance in this archetypal “I hate dat qveen” role may be found in the 2005 Archives for Unnatural Acts of Opera.
Cher Public