“A cover article this weekend about choosing the Top 10 classical composers misstates, at one point, the length of time that opera had existed as of 1750, when Bach died. As the article correctly conveys in other references, opera had been around for roughly 150 years then, not ‘a half-century’.” La Cieca is sure the article’s author, Anthony Tommasini, 162, regrets the error. [NYT]
“A profile of Richard Eyre – ‘All good actors are quick-witted’, 27 November, page 12, Review – mentioned the theatre director’s recollection of having played one of the Three Little Maids in a school production of The Pirates of Penzance. Clarification has since come from the interviewee that in Pirates he played Kate, one of four maids, the daughters of Major-General Stanley (the Three Little Maids, for their part, belong to The Mikado).” [The Guardian]
Remember those figures you read yesterday in the New York Times citing salaries of the heads of the Metropolitan Opera, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and New York City Opera? Well, not so much. In fact, Zarin Mehta‘s reported compensation was off by only 230%. [NYT]
“An article in Arts incorrectly identified the opera Madame Butterfly as a spin-off of the musical Miss Saigon. Miss Saigon is actually a spin-off of Madame Butterfly. (Apr. 13, p. 19)” [The Justice]
CORRECTION: It seems that nasty curse has landed on La Cieca, too. Can you believe that your doyenne misheard the bit of gossip she relayed you a couple of hours ago? Yes, it does indeed appear Katarina Dalayman and Susan Foster are both too ill to sing the last Tristan of the season at the Met. However, it is Linda Watson (pictured), not Janice Baird (per as previous soupçon) who is en route to save the performance.
Lord help the Mister who does fact-checking for the Times arts section! A correction published today thoroughly dispels all those rumors about  Lisa and Pauline, as seen in the Met’s current revival of The Queen of Spades. “They are friends, not sisters,” the correction helpfully informs us, and La Cieca will add that other than that one time in college, there is nothing else between them! No correction has been offered so far for Anthony Tommasini‘s assertion that Ben Heppner’s parlous vocal condition on opening night was the result of “a cold.” Â
 CORRECTION: In the words of the immortal Anna Russell, La Cieca will now shriek, “I can’t count!” There are in fact 13 singers included in the “Which Witch” quiz/competition, not 11 as your doyenne previously announced. Math is hard!
Cher Public