parterre box

Life sometimes does imitate art, or anyway bad art. La Cieca notes in today’s New York Post a story about a wedding interrupted when the bridegroom’s boss suddenly shouted that she had slept with the groom. As any hack librettist will tell you, this is a great excuse for the big third-act concertato.

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The New York Times, the Metropolitan Opera, and Comedy Central! Genius!

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A sharp-eyed member of the cher public writes: I attended a performance of Damnation of Faust (with a magnificent Polenzani and Ketelsen) in St. Louis this past Saturday night. When I arrived, there was Christine Brewer in the lobby looking quite well. No cane, no walker, no crutches, no limp, no nothing. I walked up to her and said “sure missed you on the Siegfried broadcast today, how are you?” She replied “I’m just fine” and winked.   Backstage after the performance the same exchange happened around a dozen times between Ms. Brewer and several others. I watched her for a [...]

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La Cieca hears vague rumors from here and there that there something major is going to happen with New York CIty Opera this week, possibly as early as today. According to an insider over the weekend “wagons [were] circling,” perhaps in reaction to the admission that the company has spent down over 2/3 of its endowment in past months to cover last season’s debts and current operating expenses. In the meantime, tickets for the fall 2009 season are not yet on sale.

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It took giocomopuccini only minutes to guess that last time’s Regie puzzler was Bellini’s Norma, though La Cieca is still open to suggestions about what the eggs are supposed to mean. Perhaps these photos will keep you guessing a little longer. 

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