April 2011
A faithful reader points La Cieca to a New York Times article noting that “…the triple disaster has jolted the Japanese into a new reality, sapping the materialist, feel-good spirit and replacing it with a focus on helping others and a mood of back to basics.”
Our own JJ (not pictured) has finally begun to unburden himself on the subject of the recent, much-discussed “Regietournee.” For reviews of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Rusalka and Cosi fan tutte in Berlin, please go to Musical America‘s Rough and Regie. (Photo: Monkia Rittershaus)
La Cieca (center) would like to inform the cher public (also pictured) that this weekend parterre.com is moving to a new server in order to provide a faster and smoother user experience (and who of us isn’t in favor of that?) Do be aware, though, that during the transition process, some comments posted today and…
You have spoken, parterrriani, and your message is loud and clear: Calixto Bieito should be tapped to direct the 2013 Bayreuth production of Der Ring des Nibelungen (seen here in artist’s conception.)
Everyone’s dream tenor was born April 8, 1921.
Three weeks before its orchestra contract expires, and more than a month overdue to announce its 2011-2012 season, the New York City Opera’s honchos have decides this is a good time to “ponder” the future of the company, give the whole organization a “top-to-bottom review” and maybe change venues, or, then again, maybe not. None…
“Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, about a bullied soldier’s descent into madness, is one of the grimmer operas around. Yet it was cause for jubilation Wednesday night when Met music director James Levine finally returned to the podium.” [New York Post]
In 1967, Rolf Liebermann , General Manager of the Hamburg State Operas, undertook to produce 13 operas for television, securing the Hamburg-based film and television company Polyphon Film und Fernsehgesellschaft to record the productions with the original Hamburg casts. The director Joachim Hess adapted the stage productions for the requirements of television. The second of…
Don’t worry, La Cieca isn’t going to let politics rear its ugly head (or, since we’re talking about La Cieca here, let’s say “its pretty head”); rather, the “social” we’re talking about here is as in “social media.” Just a housekeeping tip or two for you after the jump.
And so Wim Wenders will not be directing the bicentennial Bayreuth Ring cycle in 2013, in 3D or any other kind of D. In that case, who should be chosen to wrap his or her Regie around this massively high-profile project? There’s a poll right after the jump. [Stern]
A quick clip from today’s telecast of Anna Bolena; unfortunately the sound is slightly out of synch and the stage director is more than slightly “Kulturbanause.” But, still: Anna!
Which opera house’s management is rightly climbing the walls with anger? Give them a break, because only five days before a major opening night the conductor—whose name is very well known—has not yet yet arrived in town, let alone attended a rehearsal!
BelAir Classiques has released a DVD of a 2007 production of Die Walküre, filmed in HD at the Festival D’Aix en Provence, a co-production with Osterfestspiele Salzburg. While not an unwelcome addition to the numerous DVDs available of this work, it is certainly not an essential one. This production is just not bad enough to…
A faithful spy reports from the Met: “Today’s final dress of Wozzeck went very well, to say the least…. The small ‘closed’ audience cheered at the end. Waltraud Meier turned toward the wings when it was time for the maestro to take his curtain calll, but returned to her place without him. Suddenly, there [James…
Those of you who have been wondering why the announcement of the New York City Opera’s 2011-2012 seems to be almost a month overdue may not take much consolation in the rumor La Cieca has just heard. According to a reliable source, the company will “probably” not offer a fall season (“due to no money,…
We see the excited crowd at the Arena di Verona, the ancient structure lit by enormous stadium lights, the passing of candlelight through the audience, and tourists snapping pictures. The flash bulbs keep popping, right through the performance. And as the opera unfolds, there is that feeling of watching a tired Broadway cast walk through…
La Cieca was a little disappointed that so few of you guessed at last week’s Regie quiz, since the opera (though not the production) has been the subject of so much discussion the past few days. That’s right, it’s Anna Bolena, as directed for the Luzerner Theater by Tobias Kratzer. A trailer for this show,…
“Suddenly this quaint Depression-era protest song… delivered in a tone of controlled anger became like a devastating critique of today’s winner-take-all economic climate. Mr. Gunn made you feel the outrage of veterans who fought not only in World War I but in Iraq and Afghanistan, returning from overseas to cold shoulders and empty food pantries.”…
In what La Cieca chooses to regard fondly as a flashback to her gritty early days in Manhattan in the 1980s, a Met honcho has been busted on 14th Street with schnauzer in full view. [New York Post]
Given the multiple A-list events transpiring Saturday afternoon, La Cieca has come up with what she hopes is a workable solution to the over-abundance of choices.
So, let’s start guessing. Who are the three “names” who supplied the back cover blurbs for the new coffee-table ecomium James Levine: 40 Years at the Metropolitan Opera? La Cieca will provide you with hints after the jump.
La Cieca’s spies tell her that the New York City Opera plans an extremely ambitious season for 2011-2012, with vast expansions of repertory and number of performances.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
×
Sign up for Parterre’s free newsletter.
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.