In our previous Regie quiz, the eponymous character who managed to avoid being photographed (and, thus the title of the opera) was “La Calisto” by dear old Francesco Cavalli. The production was from the Landestheater Linz, directed by Matthias Davids.
An opera from a more recent century, after the jump. Read more »
Broadway star, opera diva, image consultant, self-help guru: the late Dorothy Sarnoff was all these and more. But did you know that (according to the New York Times) Ms. Sarnoff was also a pioneer in the field of gay-themed opera?
Something about the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto seems to bring out the most extreme behavior in mezzo-sopranos, whether it’s the Brainfart of Herta Glaz or the celebrated Woman on the Verge of a Wardrobe Misfunction corsetry of Isola Jones. But the award for Most Hairpieces Ever Worn at the Same Time must surely go to a relatively unheralded name, Sara Nastos, who is prepared to embody Carmen, Aldonza, Tracy Turnblad or Elizabeth Taylor without so much as a little extra ratting.
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Almost a billion dollars in Italian government cultural funding will disappear in the next few years, which means massive cutbacks and possibly even closures to the country’s 14 opera houses. [via Chicago Tribune]
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La Cieca invites the cher public to supply their own captions to this photo of “Dresser strapping corset on Heldentenor Lauritz Melchior backstage at the Metropolitan Opera House as he prepares to sing his 200th Tristan.” (1944/Alfred Eisenstaedt)
A casual mot by your doyenne clocks in at #6 on Gawker’s list of top ten comments of 2008.
Two people who probably should be discouraged from owning firearms, Thomas Hampson and Kathleen Battle, belt out a number from Irving Berlin‘s Annie Get Your Gun. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/HUSpNlhq6cQ" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Cher Public