The choreographer and opera director died earlier today. She was 68. Read more »
Is it for the sake of gay pride in San Francisco, or it is the relief of getting that massive whonking tiara off her pretty noggin? Either way, Anna Netrebko is singing Traviata better now than she was in April. (Sound clip after the jump.) Read more »
According to Musical Criticism, Deborah Voigt has canceled her run of Tosca performances at the Royal Opera “due to ‘acute colitis’.” As it happens, your doyenne had a tip on that cancellation late last week and for whatever reason (Michael Jackson fatigue?) she didn’t share that gossip with you.
So, cher public, here’s a chance for you to sound off on this journalistic lacuna and (by extension) on the mission of parterre.com in general. Take the poll after the jump. Comments are welcome as well. Read more »
Denyce Graves — whatever happened to her? Well, for one thing, she has apparently married well. Yesterday the mezzo-soprano wed Robert Montgomery — not the 1940s film star, but rather the chief of transplant surgery at Johns Hopkins. (He’s the surgeon whose team pioneered the transplant technique of removing a donor’s kidney through her vagina.) [Washington Post]
La Cieca hears that Renée Fleming is going to be a Mastersinger. In related news, veteran “marker” Sixtus Beckmesser has announced his retirement. Elsewhere, Susan Graham and Thomas Hampson will be hosts of the fifth annual F. Paul Driscoll Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. The November 19 festivities will be held at Gotham Hall. Chairing the committee will be wealthy philanthropist Bruce Wayne. [NYT]
Our Own JJ braved the elements for New York City Opera’s outdoor concert of Magic Flute. [NYP]
Despite a few doubters among you, our most recent Regie quiz was (marginally) guessable, as Doug D. demonstrated. The opera is indeed Cavalli’s Eliogabalo, and it looks as if a good time was had by all at Grange Park Opera. These people too look like they’re having a hell of a time. But what (relatively less obscure) opera are they in?
La Cieca has found further proof that time is cyclical. Presenting, from over 60 years ago, a film documentary about a production of Carmen that has not taken place yet — if indeed it ever will!
Cher Public