Search results for: bondy zeffirelli
The more ignorant segments of the public and the critical establishment continue to shout praise to David McVicar‘s torpid Tosca as the greatest triumph of the reactionary since the Bourbon Restoration.
A source close to (though not necessarily at) the Metropolitan Opera tells La Cieca that the company’s production staff “late last week” pitched the idea of reviving the Franco Zeffirelli production of Tosca in the fall of 2010 in order to free up some backstage space for the “QEII-sized” sets for the new Rheingold. Peter’s…
A Met HD cinema broadcast of Puccini’s Tosca on Saturday, 27 January, concluded the first run of a production marked by upheaval in the ten months between its announcement and its New Year’s Eve premiere.
The Met got exactly what it asked for: a safely opulent, resolutely unchallenging Tosca that was far from shabby or little but couldn’t have been less shocking
Please forgive the lateness of this week’s howler, which in any event is something more of a squeaker anyway.
Your doyenne guiltily just realized that she has not yet taken a moment to pen a “thank you” note to that member of the cher public who sent her the George Steel watch as a holiday gift. In the spirit of that timepiece, La Cieca would like to update yesterday afternoon’s open-and-shut, 100% certain, no questions asked posting…
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…
Wow! That Daniel J. Wakin story appearing in tomorrow’s Times has everything but the bloodhounds snappin’ at Luc Bondy‘s rear end!
The Met’s new production of Janacek’s From the House of the Dead sets high standards for the company, but as an indicator of the Gelb Era, it may be too good to be true.
It is always a relief when one comes across a wonderful creation, a new existence, a rediscovery. One feels regret for not knowing it before, but alas, the joy overflows. The fear of unknown, the fear of leaving the comfort zone always ends up with enlightenment and embracing the new known. In this case, is…
I’m not sure who I find more annoying – the partisans who vigorously defend Luc Bondy‘s production of Tosca at the Met or those who decry it. As Bondy’s production replaces one of the Met’s signature offerings, both groups have seized on this event as a watershed event in the history of opera in America…
Four of the cher public caught yesterday’s HD presentation of Tosca and have agreed to share their impressions with La Cieca and the rest: “The death of Puccini’s Tosca was much exaggerated, in fact it did not take place.” “After about 34 years of going to the opera, I don’t think I’ve ever left a…
La Cieca sat in on the “Cognitive Theater” discussion tonight at the New York Public Library, and the main impression she came away with is that Patrice Chéreau is a very quiet, soft-spoken man who happens to be a genius. (She was expecting something more fiery, but like many of the great divas, it seems…
A willfully ignorant old queen turns up his nose at something he hasn’t seen: “idiotic…. third rate.” In other news, dog bites man. [NYT]
11:25: Connectivity restored. A quick catchup.