Ring them bells Ring them bells

The new Boris Godunov from the Bayerische Staatsoper (directed by Calixto Bieito and conducted by Kent Nagano) looks absolutely remarkable.

on February 14, 2013 at 10:19 AM
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking Out of the cradle endlessly rocking

No, not a Regie quiz—though that feature will return soon enough now that the season is up and running—but rather an image from the new Dmitri Tcherniakov production of Jenufa for the Opernhaus Zürich.

on September 27, 2012 at 2:34 AM
Regie to the Rescue! (A new competition) Regie to the Rescue! (A new competition)

La Cieca has always, against all odds, maintained that if there is one expression that best describes the mind of the average member of the cher public, that would be “plus vive que l’oiseau, plus prompte que l’éclair.”

on August 22, 2012 at 11:57 AM
Wer nicht mit dem Woolfe heult Wer nicht mit dem Woolfe heult

Zachary Woolfe (not pictured) makes his way to Bayreuth to try to unravel the Evgeny Nikitin mystery.

on July 26, 2012 at 5:50 PM
Rodent show Rodent show

This Hans Neuenfels staging for the Bayreuth Festival caused quite a stir at its 2010 premiere, but now, with time and distance, how radical is the production?

on July 19, 2012 at 1:22 PM
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Regie is Eurotrash. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Regie is Eurotrash.

Venerable Opera magazine had better watch its ass, since the publication’s “We Hear That” column will probably be getting a “visit” from the Met’s thugs goons legal counsel any minute now.

on July 10, 2012 at 4:53 PM
How monarchic was my sprezzatura! How monarchic was my sprezzatura!

“Yet the evening’s first words, heard in the set-piece Ombra ma fui—like all of Xerxes’ arias sung with monarchic sprezzatura and amoral relish by Stella Doufexis…”

on July 06, 2012 at 3:35 PM
I’ll see you in my streams I’ll see you in my streams

Coming up over the next two weekends: a pair of streamed video performances sure to provide plenty of chat fodder.

on July 05, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Huis Clos Huis Clos

That most operatic of all operas, Il trovatore, has been done many ways, but here’s a first: the warhorse as bottle episode.

on June 21, 2012 at 12:29 AM
Shadow, no doubt Shadow, no doubt

Richard Strauss’s “last romantic opera,” as he called Die Frau Ohne Schatten, is and has always been a problem child.

on June 14, 2012 at 2:55 PM
You got a brand new key signature You got a brand new key signature

You can call Robert Lepage many things (and the critics have!), but one thing you cannot call him is “inflexible.”

on May 16, 2012 at 12:39 AM
Lulu (some) Lulu (some)

Daniel Barenboim does not want to conduct Berg’s Lulu. Or so it seems.

on April 08, 2012 at 9:09 PM
Fishy realness Fishy realness

Rusalka, in the marvelous production by Stefan Herheim, is now streaming live from La Monnaie.

on March 29, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Time, after time Time, after time

In breaking news today, Margaret Thatcher announces her resignation as British Prime Minister…

on March 20, 2012 at 10:53 AM
Death becomes her Death becomes her

The remarkable new/old production of La bohème from Norwegian Opera, directed by Stefan Herheim

on March 13, 2012 at 11:01 PM
Take the Monnaie and run Take the Monnaie and run

“Though Mr. Herheim’s work is rigorous, it is also fun, and this Rusalka is serious but the opposite of dour.”

on March 09, 2012 at 6:44 PM

It was indeed a curious sensation  making a late morning trek to East 59th Street, a block devoted to showro0ms for bizarre upscale furniture and lighting fixtures, and then to enter a boutique cinema specializing in Hindi films (the big coming attraction right now is Desi Boyz) — and all this before sitting down in…

on December 08, 2011 at 11:11 AM

La Cieca is just back from the HD of Don Giovanni from La Scala: excellent singing through the whole cast, strong conducting (if tending to the slow side) by Daniel Barenboim, and a smart, chic production from Robert Carsen that frankly makes Michael Grandage look like an utter bumpkin. The presentation will repeat here in…

on December 07, 2011 at 4:59 PM

Is Peter Gelb wearing too many hats? Anthony Tommasini seems to think so, adding that one of those headpieces in particular is ill-fitting and might perhaps more flatteringly perch upon some other head. Call La Cieca suspicious, but she thinks the timing of this piece is hardly an accident.

on November 25, 2011 at 11:15 AM

More innovative casting from amazon.com.

on November 16, 2011 at 10:00 AM

“Pathos and the high tone is not his thing,” helpfully explains Google Translate in reference to “Provokateur” Frank Castorf, who has been selected to direct the Ring at Bayreuth in 2013, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth. [Berliner Morgenpost]

on October 27, 2011 at 9:22 AM

La Cieca has just learned that La Monnaie, recently awarded the prestigious title of Opera House of the Year by Opernwelt magazine, is planning to stream all of this season’s productions free online. Currently on view is Luigi Cherubini’s Médée, featuring Nadja Michael and Kurt Streit in a production by Opera Cake fave Krzysztof Warlikowski,…

on October 12, 2011 at 11:26 AM

Stefan Herheim’s production of Parsifal for Bayreuth is the regie Holy Grail—a production that completely fulfills the promise and purpose of Regietheater.

on September 07, 2011 at 9:55 AM

Fertilization; birth; growth; decay. Eating; digestion; defecation; fermentation; biogas recovery; food production. Wagner’s Tannhäuser is a meditation on the relentless, repetition of cycles that define our existence and man’s insistence on the possibility salvation despite all the biochemical evidence to the contrary.

on August 29, 2011 at 9:10 PM
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