The rise of the Roman empire
Okay, La Cieca has sifted all the evidence thus far, and she has done Pravda-style scrutiny of what was said and what was left unsaid (particularly by Peter Gelb) in the most recent New York Times analysis of the issue, and ignoring the most recent Jeremiads from Rome on account of the fact that pretty much everybody has come to the conclusion that Franco Zeffirelli is gaga. She’s added into the mix a couple of emails she’s received recently from Met insiders who will remain anonymous. And she’s come to a conclusion, so, Lady Margaret, if you would be so kind as to ask your guests please to gather in the billiards room? Thank you.
Now, before the lights suddenly go dark and a shot rings out, fatally wounding your girl detective and thus silencing her forever, La Cieca will share with you the fruits of her deductive reasoning. To wit:
When the Met makes its belated announcement of the 2010-2011 season, the repertoire will include a revival of the Zeffirelli production of Tosca, but no Bondy. The reason given will be the size and complexity of the new productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, with perhaps some indication that the original notion was to revive Bondy alone or in alternation with Zeffirelli. But, financial conditions being what they are, the Met cannot afford that particular extravangance, which is of course a pity, because we remain fully committed to the Bondy production which we continue to regard as a success. And so forth.
Once the numbers are finally crunched, cool heads will prevail, deciding that the face-saving provided by a revival of the Bondy is simply too expensive a proposition.
It’s a limb, but La Cieca’s going out on it.
ooooooooooooooh snap.
And, Cieca, who will sing the
prima donna?
ugh. Gheorghiu. isn’t she slated to sing Tosca with Urmana? Sadly Radvanovsky either pulled out or was placed into next years Trovatore revival.
I’d rather hear her as Tosca coz I already heard her Trovatore and I think she’s starting to get sick of singing Trovatore…methinks that as well coz I’d like to hear her in new roles.
I’d definitely vote for Rad’s Tosca. It is
something she should do well, and it might
become a new signature role for her. She
does have great stamina — and that helps
a lot in T.
I’d hire Amarilli Nizza. She has worked a lot of Zeffirelli, and has a very small waist. Plus we have just ascertained that she would thrill audiences with her cheeky high Cs.
The lights return. CruzSF lets out a bloodcurdling scream. “Oh my goddess! Someone’s shot La Cieca! But what a beauty she was to the last…”
Does this mean we’re about to spend a few more days in our Parallel Universe? I truly hope so. Angela will triumph in the Lusinghieri Fosca. They belong together. Shrinking Violet Urbana will triumph in neither production. She just doesn’t have The Look.
And Lusinghieri will of course have a hissy fit that Urbana is too fat for the role. “Quella donna e grassa e non raggione per la ruola! Va a fare in culo, bitch”
Do you think Lusinghieri will bash Shrinking Violet all the way from Titaly?
Zefirelli would not dare bash Urmana. She would probably put a fist through her teeth and the entire 3rd act set up his ass.
I would not fuck with Urmana
Or, Urmana’s fist goes where L.A. thinks the third-act set might be destined… I know, eewh!
So, is La Cieca implying that the Met will use the economic situation for the Met to do away with the Tosca and send it to Europe, where it will be seen as a stale old representation, but will still be welcomed as a throw back to the good old days when productions didn’t have all the bullshit they are plastered with these days?
How “belated” are we expecting the Met’s 2010-11 season announcement to be? And can somebody please tell Brad Wilber that we are overdue for an update?!?!?
I do have some tidbits to share, gang, some of which have been in Sieglinde’s hands for a while. She’s had a busy busy semester, but there may be a way over at balconybox.blogspot.com that you can give her a nudge. I think we can probably manage another update or two before the season is announced, reportedly week of 2/22/10.
–I do hear that a soprano whose previously scheduled Met debut evaporated like a GHOST is on tap for 2010-2011.
La Cieca will be glad to publish any such updates (purely as a stopgap until Sieglinde’s site becomes available, of course.)
When will the 2010-11 season be announced? Can’t wait to see how many HDs there will be
If this were to happen, I would predict a huge ovation for the Zef sets when they re-appear, making the Bondy production look like a colossal waste of money.
Could even Gelb weather a storm like that?
Sure he could weather it — after all, money is a fungible good,
and in New York there are endless supplies — just make sure
the right banks and insurance companies are on your board,
and a drop or two of oil from TX, and you are in business –
“It’s only money!”
And money is to spend, right?
And on a similar vein,
if all this were to transpire concerning Tosca,
would Gelb dare to present the Decker Traviata later the same season? And run the risk of the same thing happening all over again?
how do you think this decision gets made? we assume that Gelb would only do this very reluctantly: so who is pushing him? is it the board? and what are the numbers they have to confront: is this all about the ticket sales for the spring 2010 Toscas?
Surely it could only be the board that could push Gelb to this decision. But it’s much too early to base this on projected ticket sales in fall 2010. We haven’t even seen the spring 2009 figures yet.
IF the board insists on the Zef sets returning, it can only be because they hate the current production.
I’m sure that the board has pushed general managers around in the past, but something like this would be pretty extreme.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Maybe not even then.
Just my guess here: I don’t think the Zeffirelli Tosca ever was a very big cash cow like the Boheme or Turandot. Through most of the run of the Tosca the Met mustered starry or semi-starry casts, as opposed to the many nights of also-rans in the other two operas. In other words, I don’t think the Z-Tosca would sell a signficantly greater number of tickets than the B-Tosca: what will make the difference is the casting.
I concur; I know plenty of people, opera buffs and sane people alike, who didn’t like the Zefferelli Tosca, myself being one of them. I don’t think I’ve met ANYONE who doesn’t like Boheme or Turandot except for some posters on Parterre who have seen them eighty times or so and are sick of them.
Very interesting. If Gelb does decide to revive the Zeffirelli production, he will most certainly use the economny and budgetary constraints as the excuse. But I’m afraid that he will just be opening a pandora’s box. As romani has predicted, a Zeffirelli revival will bring out the traditionalists in full force and they’ll cheer the sets like they’ve never been cheered before. Of course, Zeffirelli will make note of this and rant and rave to the press. And Gelb will only be able to praise the revival because it is a classic Met production after all and he made the decision to bring it back. On the other hand, I do look forward to missives from La Zeff, commenting on everything from the diva’s waistline, to the conductor’s choice of tempi, to how fast the curtain is lowered and raised, etc.
Please don’t perpetuate the idea that the only reason to regret the Bondy Tosca is “traditionalism.”
Thank you for the scolding. I am perpetuating no such thing. I have not seen the Bondy production but from everything I’ve heard and read, it is not an avante-garde production, so I agree with you. But I stand by my use of the term “traditionalists” to describe those who would come out to support the Zeffirelli production.