“Being gay is not against church teaching, but we do understand marriage in a specific way, and we need to be able to follow that belief,” Gibbs says.

Who told the Catholic Church to change their beliefs? No one. But who has more money than, well, God? The Catholic CHurch, so the lobbyists will be out in full force. Not to mention the fact that even should the City Counsel pass it, it has to be approved by Congress.

I would love to be in a relationship. I would love to get married. But more than anything, I want equal protection under the law and the same rights and freedoms that my straight brethren have. And that’s the point… it’s not about marriage, it’s about freedom.

The problem is that now, people just say, well you go to the church and get married, thus marriage is a sacred institution… HOW DARE THE FAGGOTS MESS WITH THAT!!!!! If people had to have 2 ceremonies like in other countries we would not have all the bull crap arguments we have to hear.

I’ll stop here, since this is about opera and not gay marriage. Those interested, I have a post with my vies on this issue here and here. The post is basically the same, I am providing both links just in case one is not visible, then the other is.

so the gays get to marry… and who will be the next to not be allowed to marry?

the whole gay marriage movement is just extending the “can marry-cannot marry” divide and it’s infuriating! where’s the sense of social justice in that? why aren’t we questioning the fudamental flaws and discriminatory principles of the state-run-marriage?? why are we, instead, giving all this money to join this exclusive group??

as silvia rivera said: ARGUE WITH THE HIERARCHY NOT BE THE HIERARCHY.

People on the other far side of the fence on this topic get very emotional and think we are stealing their precious religious commitment. So I think they will never budge from that stance, but if we throw up the financial issues that they get and we don’t, that is something that they understand. That is blatantly unfair! Have you heard about the guy who is trying to get a law banning divorce? He is saying that since conservatives want to protect the sanctity of marriage, then let’s ban divorce and keep married people married no matter how much they hate each other! I think that’s hilarious! That might actually be the discussion that gets us gay marriage! LOL People will say, “Whoa! Let’s not get ridiculous about all this! Let gays marry, so we can keep divorce!”

i wonder who will not be let in next…

besides that, there is a level of not feeling like a 2nd class citicen and be able to say this is my HUSBAND/WIFE with no shame; because i have a paper that says so and it is the same one you got before you went to your church and asked for that shotgun wedding.

There is also a myriad of other reasons, like having the right to sponsor my husband/wife if (s)he is a foreigner. If my employees can get married to a complete stranger so they can get a green card (and I know of several of them) then why should it be different for any couple regardless of their gender (or love).

There is also the right NOT to testify against my husband should he or I decide to do something stupid. Yes, Maddoff made out with millions and the Mrs. probably knew all along, but she will not be forced to testify and thus we will never know if there was a conspiracy, at least not from their lips.

And before I forget, how about the right to just be treated like the constitution says i should be: with all, ALL rights, privileges and responsibilities that I pay for with my taxes?

As Cieca carissima reminds me all too often: one size does not fit all.

I do feel, however, that Alagna comes off a little bit like a buffoon in interviews. Gheorghiu sometimes seems like she could be a bitch, but overall, she seems like the one who has a better career at this point. That is just my impression. I feel he has not lived up to his hype, but she continues to sing fairly well. Her piano singing is still gorgeous. Of course, she is more limited in repetoire. I don’t really see her as poison to his career. I think it is more the other way around, but who knows?

I AM curious as to what “the next level” means, in terms of his relationship with Angela. Maybe a Clintonian marriage?

It might also be noted that Zeffirelli was not the director the Alagnas signed on to work with: that was Juergen Flimm, who was fired and paid off late in the game (a stunt Volpe pulled one or twice a season.) Zeffirelli wasn’t announced for this production until only a few weeks before the breakdown in negotiations between Volpe and the Alagnas. (La Cieca happens to know this because on March 5, she broke the story that Zeffirelli was taking over the production. The official announcement of Zeffirelli’s involvement was not made until March 10. Volpe blabbed his side of the story to the New York Times on April 2.)

It may well be that Alagna brought in sketches from his brother; it may also be true that he tried to pitch his brother as a director for the Met (why not?) What I don’t believe is true is that Alagna and Gheorghiu made their participation in the Met’s Traviata hinge upon the hiring of Davide Alagna — even though Volpe has striven mightily to justify his hot-tempered blunder by trying to make people believe that canard is true.

In her long years of following the truths, half-truths and downright lies of the opera business, La Cieca has gradually come to the conclusion that he who is the most eager to tell his story is generally the least credible.

Lindoro, what happened? I don’t know the history.

With more time, the production perhaps would have been scrapped altogether until a new star Carmen was available. (Netrebko?)

I’ll venture to guess that her unpredictability may have also had something to do with the cancellation of The Ghosts of Versailles. She would have been the drawing card. An how many thought that she would actually learn the role in English?

Same with Hoffmann. Can’t imagine the Met mounting a new production without the likes of Pape, Netrebko x4 and Villazon. Regardless of how succesful the current cast may be.

I have to say that Alagna’s flirtation with Fleming right in front of Gheorghiu during the La Rondine HD transmission intermission surprised me. It was almost like he was trying to upset Gheorghiu, and she excused herself. Fleming seemed a bit taken aback and handled it professionally.

I have to say that I think Alagna has been poison to his own career. His walk out during that Aida at La Scala was a big mistake. His attempts at getting his brother hired (and replace Zeffirelli) for the Traviata were ridiculous. Volpe even discusses this in his book. He lost his EMI recording contract. I think in the last few years Gheorghiu has had better gigs than he has, and I think she still has a recording contract. Gelb has given her enough roles at the Met. However, we don’t know how long that will last since she cancelled most of her Carmens (and my impression was that this new production was for her).