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Cher Public

  • Lindoro Almaviva: Which Price? Leontine? Cause I have news for you about the last 20 or... 2:16 PM
  • Lindoro Almaviva: And so what? Artists make their choices. Where was Rossini at 60? Fat... 2:12 PM
  • Lindoro Almaviva: On completely unrelated news. Opera depot (http://www.ope radepot.co... 2:00 PM
  • Lindoro Almaviva: I worship the groud ATS walks in. For me she is a great example of how... 1:59 PM
  • luvtennis: When Sutherland was a mere lass of 60. Where was Cerquetti at that age? Not... 1:56 PM
  • luvtennis: Absolute rubbish if you are referring to Sutherland. She was greater musician... 1:45 PM
  • luvtennis: To which Anna TS replied to Gwyneth “Oh was that you singing, I thought... 1:40 PM
  • luvtennis: Sorry, but I must disagree. If you listen to Lehmann or Gadski it quickly... 1:28 PM
  • papopera: thats la Sutherland, isn’t she a pain though ? 1:14 PM
  • isepo: Well acc. to Robert Kraft, Stravinsky was continually revising Le sacre until the... 12:57 PM

Archives

Gualtier tells “Tales”

gualtier_hoffmann
So, I was asking my friends with Met Opera insider connections about the new Hoffmann production directed by Bartlett Sher. Seemingly conceived under an unlucky star, this production first lost two of its four heroines when Anna Netrebko decided not sing Olympia and Giulietta but kept Antonia and also Stella, leaving the dramaturgy somewhat lopsided. Read more »

A tale from “Hoffmann”

hoffmann_thumbJoseph Calleja has dropped out of the dress rehearsal of the Met’s new Les Contes d’Hoffmann because he is ill. Finishing the runthrough is David Pomeroy.

La Cieca expects a full hashing-out of today’s rehearsal later today from one of our oldest and most controversial contributors.

The Memory of Singing

angelikaAustrian mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager left an incomplete impression as a Lieder singer Sunday night, in a quirky recital program of Brahms, Wolf, Mahler and Reynaldo Hahn, with pianist Warren Jones.

Suffering from a cough and swallowing some words, Ms. Kirchschlager succeeded more in gesture than details. Breezing through Brahms’ songs ”Meine liebe ist grün,” ”Über die Heide,” and “Salome,” faux-naïve songs with thick, Schumannesque accompaniments, Kirchschlager often dropped consonants and clipped the ends of phrases.   Read more »

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Mara Zampieri: the Cabaret Years!

Or is La Cieca mistaken: could this rather be Alfred Deller's "after hours" show?  Read more »

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That word again; I don’t even know what it means!

"They're known for their great bods and for breathless blogs written by devoted admirers. Bearers of great pecs and pipes, barihunks like Matthew Worth and Tom Forde are bringing high art to the masses in a universally appealing form. And the dark-haired Gunn, all 6 broadly muscled feet of him, is king of that particular hill..." [Los Angeles Times]

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They’re right. We’re wrong.

"This is the second of 3 postings to You Tube of a complete video of the curtain calls for ... Nina Ananiashvili's final performance with ABT at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York...." [YouTube]

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A weekend amusement

"Not since the young Jolanda Meneguzzer has anyone jumped the pearls in the often-cut Act 12 of this so very kinky work..." An operatic "mad-lib" type fill in the blanks game, after the jump.  Read more »

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Regie unleashed

Right the first time, WindyCityOperaMan! Last week's Regie quiz was indeed Das Rheingold — as envisioned by Barrie Kosky for Staatsoper Hannover. You will forgive La Cieca for saying that either the quizzes are getting too easy or the cher public are getting too smart! As such, your doyenne has put her back into it a bit this week, seeking a somewhat less familiar title for your perusal. Read more »