September 2009
A whole month it’s been since our last Regie quiz, when the opera depicted was admittedly a lesser-known work, Rossini’s La scala di seta. More tomfoolery in sleek modern interiors may be found in this week’s quiz, after the jump.
People often come up to me and say, La Cieca, “Who do you think will be the next Renée Fleming?” Well, all, right, that doesn’t actually happen often, or even rarely. In fact, it doesn’t happen at all. But be that as it may, La Cieca has found “the next Renée Fleming,” or at least…
Today, September 12, thousands of protesters opposed to health care reform marched in Washington and elsewhere, carrying signs like the ones pictured above. This “9/12 Project” is brought to you in part by Americans for Prosperity, which you will all recall is headed by David H. Koch, the billionaire who is to be honored at…
Brainstorming advertising slogans for the new Tosca at the Met: “Puccini’s Shocker, Shabbier Than Ever!” “Now with Three Times the Penetration!” “O Scarpia, Second to the Right and Straight on ‘Til Morning!”
Reformed twink turned Verdi impersonator Rufus Wainwright has joined the ranks of Koch fanciers who will perform at the American Voices concert relaunching the NYCO on November 5. The Roofster will play and sing, yes, that song again, “Les feux d’artifice” from Prima Donna, providing respite from NYCO singers present and past including Samuel Ramey, Lauren Flanigan, Amy Burton, Joyce…
La Cieca continues her salute to Kennedy Honoree Grace Bumbry with this 1973 documentary.
La Cieca is just guessing here (with some prompting from Zachary Woolfe) but she thinks she has divined the coup de théâtre climaxing the Met’s new production of Tosca. They shoot Mario, etc. etc., and then Karita Mattila runs crazily off the stage as the guards come rushing on. They search all about but cannot find…
Amazing Grace Bumbry has been named as a recipient of the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors. [Clef Notes]
Zachary Woolfe asks the musical question, “Who is this Peter Gelb anyway?” [NY Observer]
This is crossover that stops just short of crossdressing.
Which “gay” cougar has been showering her tenor colleague with even more affection offstage than on? (And, no, despite the clues, there are no homosexuals anywhere in this item.)
Which operatic legend intends to breeze into New York later this month to assess the work of his successor?
Offhand, La Cieca would never have thought of Così fan tutte done as a telenovela, but honestly? She’s seen a lot worse. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/oQwtjYkKoz0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Who but La Cieca’s idol and role model Liz Smith would have the wit (not to mention the balls) to compare Sarah Palin to Maria Callas, complete with quote from Sir Rudolf Bing, plus an offhand allusion to…
Ildebrando d’Arcangelo and Andrea Concetti get chummy in this scene from Don Giovanni. [via Barihunks]
Our Own JJ (not pictured) nominates the can’t-miss operatic and vocal events of the autumn of 2009. [NYP]
Régine Crespin, whose “Very Best” you’ll want to possess; Joan Crawford, in the 1947 film noir Possessed.
All of you who said, “Oh, Kiri te Kanawa could never do Norma” are feeling pretty silly right now, aren’t you? Of course, La Cieca doesn’t mean the Bellini druidess, a role the Kiwi songbird never could have mastered even at the peak of her career, whenever that might have been. No, this Norma is…
Two things Dame Kiri te Kanawa doesn’t like to talk about: retirement and knickers. [The Australian]
The Met will distribute free tickets for their dress rehearsal of Tosca on Sunday, September 13 beginning at noon. La Cieca thinks you all understand how important it is that parterre.com scoop the world in reporting on this event, so she trust the cher public will do the right thing. [NYT]
Which merry blonde is about to waltz her way into the sovrintendente’s office at a top Italian theater? Come on, all! Hey, you can guess this one — even without a degree from the oldest university in Europe!
An old clip, from 2005 in fact, but oddly prescient, perhaps. Who knew that Les vêpres siciliennes could sound so much like Verismo? Not the Greatest of E’s (Don’t thank La Cieca; this stunner was sent in by Our Own Kernita Makilla.)
Newly beardless Rufus Wainwright once more graced the annual “Last Song of Summer” concert to benefit Robert Wilson‘s Watermill Center last weekend. (Rufus’s boyfriend Jorn Weisbrodt is the Creative Director of the Center.) Despite a “miraculous last minute change of venue to the Field House at The Ross School’s lower school campus on Butter Lane…
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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