December 2009
Cabaret goddess Ute Lemper appears amidst the intime ambiance of Joe’s Pub in NYC later this week to explore “the world of Berlin Kabarett, the backstreets of Montmartre and Pigalle with the French Chansons Realistes and the fantastic, sensual songs of Argentinian Tango in between Buenos Aires and New York.” Whew, let’s hope she has…
Bare-chested ere the world was young, ur-Barihunk Nathan Gunn continues to work the workout, currently in the Wall Street Journal.
Everything I need to know about Bizet I learned at a Judy Chicago exhibit in 1996. Brutality against women is pervasive, and society is culpable by permitting it. Such grievances were aired at the expense of the composer’s chef d’oeuvre Carmen yesterday at La Scala’s Gala opening, viewed dal vivo at Symphony Space on 95th and Broadway.
“The Metropolitan Opera’s Grand Revitalization Act” on the PBS NewsHour.
A new production of Verdi’s Macbeth? At the Wiener Staatsoper? At a 192 Euro top? And this is what you get?
Thrill to double-barreled diva excitement as that most regal of Kennedy Center honorees Grace Bumbry converses with always awesome Anne Midgette! [Washington Post]
Nuns, Doppelgängers, ball gags, “third arms“? Your own Squirrel is on the scene at Symphony Space offering his eyewitness account of the prima of Carmen (as seen on HD, liveish from Milan). Up-to-the-minute coverage follows the jump.
I’m sure I do not need to tell the mostly New-York based readers of parterre this, but Turandot is an opera that can really be turned into a pageant. Not that that’s a bad thing. It is, after all a fairy tale, and so when directors attempt to delve deep into the psychology of Puccini’s…
La Cieca is happy to note that Our Own Squirrel will be on-site at Symphony Space this afternoon with live breaking coverage of the triumphs and/or scandales associated with the prima of Carmen from La Scala, as seen on HD. Coverage starts here at parterre.com at 11:45 AM.
Rolando Villazón has announced the schedule for his next comeback: L’elisir d’amore in Vienna on March 22, followed by Yevgeny Onegin in Berlin March 26 – April 2. [AFP]
You’ve heard of “O face” and “Butter face.” Now La Cieca presents for your approval a new operatic term, used to describe the frighteningly contorted and sometimes downright Cheneyesque expressions affected by singers of Vivaldi and other baroque music. It’s called… “Armatae Face.”
Smartly done, Jim, for last week’s quiz was indeed “Lear, with the little dogs taken literally.” This was the Reimann opera, as performed at the Komische Oper in a production by Hans Neuenfels. Moving on, then. What’s this blonde’s problem?
Neither Maria Guleghina nor Marcello Giordani was in best form for the Met’s HD telecast of Turandot — and, truth be told, the lavish Franco Zeffirelli production is beginning to show its age.
“…the 6-year-old pup is now Renée Fleming’s silent co-star — even he must resist the temptation to howl along with the diva during his 22-minute turn in the spotlight.” [NY Post]
With Händel’s canon largely rediscovered and audiences hungry for more music from the Baroque period, opera houses and recording companies have increasingly turned their attention towards the stage works of Antonio Vivaldi. In only the past decade around 25 of Vivaldi’s operas and pasticcios have been revived, and more and more artists are performing and…
Regina Resnik returns to the Met to face Marcellina. A rebroadcast of Le nozze di Figaro from January 11, 1958, right now on Bartok Radio, Hungary.
From deep in the parterre cellar, a glimpse of a long ago Met Hoffmann.
Condescending to opera lovers across America — and cheating both Bartlett Sher and Squirrel out of the simple joys of partial nudity — the Met has decided to censor the December 19th High Def broadcast of Les Contes d’Hoffmann!
“…Mr. Sher may have done too much analysis of the work’s psychological subtexts.” [NYT]
“As the Met chorus raised their voices at the climax of Les Contes d’Hoffmann Thursday night, the tavern setting opened up, revealing … a gray wall. It was a sadly appropriate visual symbol for a glamour-deprived dud of a new production.” [NY Post]
Opera and comedy can be a very awkward match. Despite the number of comic operas in the standard rep, most opera fans don’t seek out a local production of, say, Die Entführung aus dem Serail because they need a giggle and 30 Rock is a repeat that night. And so the 1997 Opéra National de…
Christof Loy’s dreamlike, pared-down production of Donizetti’s 1833 masterpiece Lucrezia Borgia, created for the Bayerischen Staatsoper, is brought to life on Medici DVD from performances in July 2009. The DVD of the performance is accompanied by another hour-long DVD, The Art of Bel Canto: Edita Gruberova, which includes some fascinating rehearsal and performance footage of…
Our own Gualtier told tales and named names, in great detail, after Monday’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann dress rehearsal. Squirrel was at the premiere, and had a grand old time. Bartlett Sher‘s production lovingly displays the many dimensions of Offenbach’s inspired and charming opera. With perfect comedic timing, clarity of action, and real depth of feeling, even its few…
Here’s the place for all your chatting needs, cher public, during tonight’s broadcast of Les Contes d’Hoffmann from the Met.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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