It’s Done!
La Cieca congratulates winner Stevey (not pictured) for his masterful curatorial efforts in the “Now That’s How It’s Done” challenge, and the DVD of the Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991: 25th Anniversary at Lincoln Center
Congratulations and thanks go out as well to the many, many members of the cher public who shared clips and wisdom, and who played so nicely together all the while too throughout a thread of 269 comments and counting! La Cieca is now open to suggestions for topics for further competitions along these lines, the first of which will begin on Thursday of this week.
Thanks to you all once again, and bless you! Bless you!
Wow! All those years of having no social life to speak of are finally paying off!!! Thanks, La Cieca!
Stevey, please forward a mailing address to lacieca@parterre.com .
Thanks.
It’s already been suggested, but can we go with “Bass Canards: Dementia from the Nether Regions”?
. . . and please, NO pictures of nearly naked men this time. I have gotten nothing done this week at all.
Ignore this post.
It was remarkable how little ill feeling there was in that thread, particularly given how much potential there was for it as a reaction to the often hyperbolic praise lavished on singers by the original posters. Other than the predictable reaction from a certain somebody to La Callas, nobody saw fit to shatter anybody’s illusions, pour cold water, or tell anybody they were an idiot who knows nothing about opera, which made for a refreshing change.
True. And it was the kind of thread that I really like — one where I get introduced to all kinds of performances that I hadn’t heard before. And reading people’s reasons for why they posted a clip was very interesting too.
For the next instalment, I would suggest a more specific topic. The last one basically allowed for any performance that’s great. I like the idea of focusing on a particular voice type (as with BAB’s fabulous suggestoin) or maybe a particular affect or language or composer.
Not my suggestion. I think it was Henry Holland’s. I merely gave it that filip of sarcasm he seemed reluctant to provide.
In other words, you gave it that extra marketing zip. You are to parterre discussion threads what HD broadcasts are to the Metropolitan Opera.
Can everyone who submits an example please identify the singer(s), the opera, and any dates and locations if available. I know I can usually link to youtube for the info but it’s so much easier when it is right here on this site.
Suggestions: limit the competitions to just one type of voice, or duets, or to single composers or single works.
Really loved the first one and cannot wait to see what everyone uncovers next.
Yes, the information is helpful because sometimes it’s not on the YouTube page but La Cieca’s sharp patrons know it.
Best thread ever. Virtually 100% positive and a lot of fun. Bravo!
Tim
Agreed, if people actually stated what it was with their post then that would help – there were a few that were mysteries until clarification was provided.
Let me chime in too; this was a really fun thread and (mostly) devoid of posters with an agenda.
To single one example out, I really enjoyed the Rolandi clip; I had seen the performance live and on tv but that was light years ago. It was lovely to see her again , poking gentle fun at her character and making a rather unpleasant character a bit charming after the plot has been resolved.
Is there a particular clip that stevey submitted that was more apt than others, or was it the sheer volume of his posts?
Well – I think we could have a rest from necrophilia and post clips from people who are actually alive and performing in the 21st century – this would encourage people to try and seek them out and attend some of the performances these artists are appearing in, if geographically possible.
seconded, I think this is an excellent idea.
Great idea. In fact we could focus it on something like ” Who,today, could sing the role, X?” ( no pun intended) and have posters respond with either an example of a living singer who actually has sung X, or a clip that suggests why the singer could sing X.
How about a thread devoted to clips of singers performing roles outside of their traditional repertoire? (Kinda like a this-shouldn’t-work-but-damn-it-does.) We can even trot out a tired pun for the title (e.g., “What the Fach?”)
Or, considering that many youtube videos allow us to see as well as hear these performances, why not focus our attention on a specific visual aspect (e.g., costumery, scenery, etc.)?
So, yes, that last idea is a bit rough around the edges, but perhaps it will help germinate the seed for someone else’s far better concept. (And please pardon the egregious mixing of metaphors.)
Leitbreite: WHAT THE FACH is a great idea. I nominate Leontyne Price’s Caro Nome on one of her recital discs. Of course, she never performed the role. I did see Scotto as Lady MacBeth at the Met. I went in thinking “no way” and left thinking “well…..”
Thomas Hampson’s Cherubino definitely gets a big “WHAT THE FACHHH!?!”