Just in time for Halloween, an all-new profile by Anne Midgette, “The Undead Diva: Renée Fleming Has Virtuosity Under Control.”
You voted, cher public, and La Cieca delivers on her campaign promises. Herewith the three most-requested mystery Ulricas. Use these sound clips wisely in formulating your entries in the Which Witch competition.
Washington National Opera has posted a preview clip of their Lucrezia Borgia (opening on Saturday), and La Cieca predicts they have a hit on their hands. Renée Fleming, though she looks far too young to have a grown son, seems to be singing in a more straighforward and honest way. Hunkentenor Vittorio Grigolo charms even while handicapped by a Billy Idol wig and metallic faux-leather jerkin. If there is one point that puzzles La Cieca, it is that Kate Aldrich should be singing the Brindisi when she so obviously should have interpolated Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
In this, as in so many things, La Cieca follows the lead of friendly firebrand Maury D’Annato. Your doyenne calls on you, cher public, to help defeat California’s Proposition 8, a measure that, according to some legal scholars, could nullify thousands of existing marriages. Even in a best-case scenario, this measure would rob same-sex couples of the right to marriage. Please click on the banner below and, if you can, give generously to the Keep Marriage Legal cause.
La Cieca is surprised to note that with only a day left in the spectacular Which Witch competition, there are only a few official entries, with a tie (10 correct each) between the top two contenders. It may be that your doyenne got a little cocky this time around and made the quiz impossibly difficult to solve, or (anything can happen!) perhaps the cher public have other things on their mind, e.g., Duncan Meadows’s thing.
Anyway, here’s what La Cieca proposes. Suppose you, the public, select three of the 13 Ulricas you are having particular trouble identifying, and your doyenne will supply longer excerpts of each singer to facilitate the identification a little. In order to level the playing field entirely, those of you who have already submitted an entry in the contest will have the option of offering another guess. From this point, though, only one entry per email address will be considered.
All right then, which of the 13 Ulricas would you like to hear more from? You may vote for up to three. The poll will finish at 10:00 pm tonight and La Cieca will post the longer excerpts for the three you choose later tonight. The contest as a whole will still finish at midnight tomorrow, Halloween night, October 31.
Un petit oiseau (dans la charmille) has just whispered to La Cieca that mythic diva Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh will emerge briefly from semi-retirement on Halloween night as a surprise guest during the Sirius broadcast of La traviata from the Met. To avoid any confusion, La Cieca should note that “La Dementia” will not be singing the role of Violetta that evening (Anja Harteros will perform as usual), but the Ukrainian Nightingale will grace the broadcast booth for an interview with Margaret Juntwait. The yakking will begin at approximately 10:00 pm EDT during the second intermission of the Verdi tearjerker.
The legendary dramatic tenor is 82 years old today.
Joining Vickers for this 1967 clip from Die Walküre is Gundula “They tried to make me go to rehab” Janowitz.
A bit of Salome from the Royal Opera, with a somewhat less skittish sense of cinematography than what we got from the Met’s HD!
Finally a chance to see Naked Busker Guy Duncan Meadows in action! (And, forgive La Cieca for saying so, but if your leading lady sounds like Nadja Michael, you’d better offer your audience something extra for their money.)
Cher Public