In case you’re wondering why there was so little drama onstage in that recent production, perhaps it’s because so much was exploding behind the scenes. Which merely adequate director tried to get that lush-voiced star canned? And which conductor was Johnny on the spot to broker a little brotherly love between the antagonists—the better to demonstrate his bona fides for that still-gaping job opening?
La Cieca hears that the premiere of a new production may be marred. The reason? The company might have to perform the Paris version of this opera.
Which diva, who is known for being always free to speak her mind, insists that the “illness” blamed for her absence from a recent performance was nothing more than a convenient fiction? She continues to harbor a suspicion that those in charge simply didn’t want her to perform.
So, when is a diva’s expected surprise guest appearance really a surprise? When she doesn’t appear, of course—though, to be sure, with her track record, a last-minute cancellation is no surprise at all. What is perhaps surprising is the repertoire kerfuffle that escalated into the no-show: apparently not everybody can live for art.
Which maestro, a former music director of an American opera company, is now in the running for that title at the Met—assuming the company indeed has done a radical about-face in its plans?
Which veteran artist has finally made up his mind which opera to perform in concert next spring? Here’s a hint: after five decades of career, he’s sung this role many times before, yet this time it will be something original.
After what surely ranked as among the busiest (and silliest) pre-season ditherings ever, that scene everyone was so worried about, La Cieca is informed, is back where it belongs. The decision to restore the aria was made this afternoon, and the reason? Well, let’s just say the “purely dramaturgical” will always be trumped by the “prima donnaturgical.”
It appears that tenor Stephen Costello, whom some of you guessed was a subject of a recent blind item, is not so centrally involved in the controversy as was imagined.
Cher Public