Says a spectator at last night’s Tosca: [The final leap] “did seem poorly timed– Mattila ran to the top in slow motion, switch to stunt double appeared obvious. No boos followed– unenthusiastic applause instead. Neither Scarpia took any bow.” Read more »
La Cieca feels like she’s supposed to make a joke here, but she can’t — because Anthony Tommasini‘s interview with Barbra Streisand is like… well, you know!
Unlike the directors of some recent Metropolitan Opera stagings, Julie Taymor received an enthusiastic ovation when her production of Mozart’s “Zauberflöte” had its debut at the house in 2004.
If the Metropolitan Opera continues on its current path, Jonathan Miller’s 1998 production of Mozart’s “Nozze di Figaro” will be succeeded either by a version couched in the glitzy conventions of Broadway or by a European high-concept staging in which the action is presented as, perhaps, a hallucination of an institutionalized Don Basilio.
Goodness knows, and La Cieca does too, that not everyone can achieve the precision of intonation of our dear Dame Nellie Melba, as I’m sure dear Dame Nellie would be the first to remind us. But even without perfect tuning or even because of perfect tuning, certain singers achieve a more viscerally thrilling effect than did the Australian Nightingale.
Renée Fleming shall henceforth be known as “La Scoopenda.” Congratulations to JNinNYC for his splendid suggestion, and thanks to all you lovely public who came up with so many clever ideas: in particular “La Ubiquita,” “Miss Cast” and “That Woman.” The new Verismo CD (among other delectables) is now on its way to the clever JN.
“As ever though, it was that gnomic figure in the orchestra pit that dominated the night. James Levine, the Met’s principal conductor, made his debut at the Met with Tosca in 1971 and now approaches his 2,500th performance at the house. From the audience, all you see of him from behind as he conducts is his large ball of white hair swaying rhythmically from side to side. The light of his score frames his head. I swear, it looks just like a halo.” [The Guardian]
Now, here La Cieca is somewhat confused. The music is obviously from Tannhäuser, but so far as she can tell the scenario for the video is derived from the 1964 Bette Davis vehicle Dead Ringer.
“…a new production of Puccini’s Tosca left a significant segment of the audience booing one of the company’s biggest failures in decades.” [AP, unsigned review, and no wonder]
Cher Public