Headshot of La Cieca

Cher Public

  • Camille: La Valkyrietta, quanto? Il prezzo! ???????? 5:56 PM
  • Camille: Wait, wait—that’s not the famous NYCO story about the Tosca trampolining up and down, laughing... 5:54 PM
  • armerjacquino: I always thought that was just the generic TOSCA story. Did it happen to Price? 5:51 PM
  • Baltsamic Vinaigrette: Thanks for that, ljushuvud. It’s gorgeous! 5:31 PM
  • La Valkyrietta: Thanks CruzSF. I see that the two you mentioned are from the “Wagner at the Met” album... 5:27 PM
  • Bianca Castafiore: La superba testa! 5:20 PM
  • La Valkyrietta: How about watching Leontyne jump off Castel Sant’Angelo and instants later see her head... 5:15 PM
  • CruzSF: For the Wagnerphiles: Met Opera Radio on Sirius is devoting its entire schedule this week to the Maestro.... 4:30 PM

L’intervallo

Now that La Cieca (pictured) has returned to New York, she can hardly wait to hear your off-topic and general interest discussion for the week.

241 comments

  • zinka says:

    When we first did this in New Joisy, Galvany held the last note for about three hours. This is 1974 City Opera..Tell me if ANYONE TODAY compares to this..It is called “Cantando con Coglioni.”

    P.S. If you can tell us her other phony names and the real one, I will sing the final scene for you.

  • kashania says:

    And then there was Radvanovsky herself. This prodigiously gifted American soprano remains something of a work in progress.

    There was a lot to like in her first crack at this touchstone role, which the legendary Maria Callas restored to the modern repertory in 1957. The basic quality of Radvanovsky’s voice can be thrilling – a penetrating sound that is hard-edged without being harsh. She unleashed astonishing power, especially at the top of her range (though she was not always able to scale back the volume when she should have). But there were still traces of her tendency to sing flat, and some of her phrasing was rhythmically imprecise.

    Dramatically, she has not yet found the emotional depth to portray the tragic queen as much more than the weepy victim of a conniving king. The one exception came in the encounter with Ganassi, when the Italian mezzo’s own intensity seemed to jump-start her performance.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120919/us-opera-review-anna-bolena/

  • zinka says:

    Another of the sopranos who outshines most of the dull divas of today..Born Sept.22, 1941

  • The start of the opera season means that the singing elves have left Aithra’s undersea palace and are now writing blog posts for Superconductor. Of interest: a review of last night’s Anna Bolena with Sondra Radvanovsky at the Washington National Opera, and a review of Einstein on the Beach hosted by our friends at The Classical Review.