“I had a reputation that I was not easy to work with… But that was because they knew I was very professional, very correct and always, always successful.”
Only one diva could say that and not only get away with it, but make us adore her all the more. [St. Louis Beacon]
“Never before have I seen a Royal Opera production greeted with a standing ovation and then a fortissimo volley of boos.” [Times Online]
Anthony Tommasini‘s Sunday Times think piece about opera direction (fetchingly adorned with the Susannesque
Edo de Waart will conduct Der Rosenkavalier on October 13, 16, and 19 at the Met, replacing James Levine during his recuperation from herniated disc surgery.
The quarterly results (July-September 2009) are in, and La Cieca must say she is delighted with the participation of you, the cher public, in the Amazon Associates advertising system. After the jump, a rundown of this quarter’s most popular products ordered via parterre.com.
Sting is hoping to attract new fans to opera with his latest release, a film in which he and wife Trudie Styler tell the story of composer Robert Schumann. [BBC News]
Billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne David H. Koch, slated to be celebrated for his boons to humanity at the November 5 ”American Voices” gala by the New York City Opera, is namechecked in this month’s Rolling Stone. The article, “The Lie Machine,” details how this summer’s “spontaneous” demonstrations against health care reform “were tightly orchestrated from the top down by corporate-funded front groups as well as top lobbyists for the health care industry.”
UPDATE: A press release from the Met adds that James Levine has withdrawn from performances of Der Rosenkavalier as well as Tosca. Joseph Colaneri, who was already scheduled to conduct Tosca on October 3, 14, and 17, will take over Levine’s performances of the Puccini opera on October 6 and 10 matinee. (He already filled in for Levine conducting Tosca on September 24 and 28.) The conductor for Der Rosenkavalier performances on October 13, 16, and 19 will be announced soon. Levine’s doctors expect him to recover in time to conduct the new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann which opens [...]
Which operatic A-lister — not scheduled to appear at the Met until next year — is going to offer New York a wonderful surprise return next week?
La Cieca is idly wondering how James Levine‘s back is feeling this morning, after yesterday’s flareup that left him unable to conduct Tosca at the Met last night. Rather an important question, too, since he’s scheduled for that high-profile Stravinsky-Mozart concert with the Boston Symphony tonight. In the absence of any hard evidence, your doyenne is afraid she’s just going to have to ask the question and hope for someone, somewhere to offer an answer. So, intangible forces of the Universe, La Cieca asks, “How’s Maestro Jimmy’s back today?”
Cher Public