Guesses poured in for our most recent Regie quiz, but correct reponses were few and far between. The opera is in fact Martin’s Una cosa rara, and (credit where credit is due) the handsome though bewildering photographs were by Ken Howard.
A more familiar title graces the quiz this time around. The imagery, however, is among the most obscure thus far. Reminder: if you recognize the production, please DO NOT blurt it out. The point of the quiz is guessing!
Members of the cher public indigenous to the District of Columbia and its environs will welcome Anne Midgette as music critic for the Washington Post, as leaked this morning on Ionarts. In fact, Midgett’s full-time appointment is good news on a national scale, given the media’s current scary cutbacks in arts coverage.
The scribe’s current less than cheerful assignment is to write the obituary of legendary press representative Edgar Vincent, whom Midgette describes as the “antithesis of the stereotypical loud-mouth, attention-hungry PR rep.”
Pregnancy certainly seems to agree with Anna Netrebko!
While your doyenne is busy this weekend with “Viva la Diva!” you, cher public, may want to spend a few suspenseful moments perusing the latest iteration of Brad Wilber‘s MetFutures, hosted for the summer at Sieglinde’s Diaries.
What looks to be the Next Big Thing coming from the Met: offering their audio and video content for download a la iTunes. La Cieca is not clear on the details of this new program, but a job listing has just gone up on metopera.org for a Digital Producer who will be responsible for the web interface for “Met Digital subscription and rental sales.”
According to the blog AfterElton.com, Tony Award-winning barihunk Paulo Szot “is an out gay man.” Writer Brian Juergens says the blog “contacted his publicist and were told that yes, he is gay, and we’re welcome to say as much.”
Two superstars of the 21st century, Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Flórez, bring exciting new life to a classic of the 19th century, Verdi’s Rigoletto. This new production of the warhorse was heard Saturday night in Dresden. Regie is by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and musical direction is by Fabio Luisi.
It took Bridget Jones practically no time at all to guess the correct answer to our most recent Regie quiz: the opera depicted was indeed Die Walküre. So now can you tell La Cieca which opera is being performed here? And do remember, everyone: guesses only! If you know the production, sit this one out!
Your doyenne continues to marvel at the riches preserved on YouTube. A random browse this evening turned up a particularly rare gem: a snippet of Aïda as performed by legendary Romanian divas Virginia Zeani and Elena Cernei.
Cher Public