La Cieca’s sources tell her that a planned revival of Faust at the Met in the fall of 2014 has been canceled, because who wants to see that ugly thing again, or else the leading lady didn’t feel like singing it, whichever. Anyway, the situation goes something like this: the company has under contract Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, Artur Rucinski and René Pape for eight performances or so during that time. Your assignment, cher public, is to come up with an opera with plausible roles for at least three, or ideally all four, of these artists. (Photo: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera)
Now that the Met’s 2013-2014 season has been published and almost immediately discussed to death, La Cieca thought it would be amusing to do a bit of speculation about what lies ahead as we approach the middle of the decade. An assemblage of gossip and guesswork about the 2014-2015 season follows the jump, and won’t it be fun to look back on this post next February when the official announcement is made? Read more »
With that kind of international star power, the set is probably destined for commercial success. For some, it will also add kindling to the debate about Gergiev’s strengths in this repertory. Read more »
At tonight’s Faust performance, two events of note: René Pape, upon his re-entrance after the Jewel Song, ad-libbed the spoken line “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” The performance, a broadcast, was the basso’s final one of this production.) After this moment of comedy, drama followed at the curtain calls.
Versatile diva Violeta Urmana takes on the demanding verismo role of Giordano’s Fedora for the first time at… Oh, sorry, that’s René Pape as Méphistophélès in Faust at Covent Garden! (Photo by Catherine Ashmore)
René Pape has withdrawn from La Scala’s season-opening new production of Die Walküre, in what was to have been his role debut as Wotan. Vitalij Kowaljow will substitute. Pape is still scheduled to sing this role at the Berlin Staatsoper in April 2011. It is not clear at this point if Pape’s decision was based on vocal issues or a very reasonable unwillingness to spend five hours of stage time cavorting with mimes.
La Cieca hears that Rene Pape has just canceled an upcoming production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Now, we New Yorkers perhaps should not panic quite yet, because the engagement he has just asked to be released from is not at the Met. On the other hand, the Hoffmann Pape is leaving is after his scheduled Met dates and (so La Cieca hears) the version of the music he was to be asked to sing is more or less identical to the mongrel edition James Levine uses at the Met. Which suggests that, in fact, maybe we should panic – because, if [...]
Cher Public