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Cher Public

  • louannd: I remember seeing Le Nozze in Santa Fe in 2000 with R...
  • Camille: Oh, Ava is so beautiful in this part -- what's not to love? ...
  • quinquin1: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csKwhUIbrvs&feature=rela...
  • quinquin1: Damn, i hope the make a dvd of this!!!! Jonas and Anja in DO...
  • brooklynpunk: This is even making me nostalgic for the rather horrible MG...
  • Camille: Okay, I concede that the speech styling sucks.
  • Camille: "grateful to hear it AT all", I meant.Thanks guys for th...
  • Camille: I am very grateful to hear it all -- they are doing it in a ...
  • brooklynpunk: ...I admit, that the reprise of Old Man River, at ...
  • brooklynpunk: Nathan Gunn DOES have the correct singing style dow...

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Eyes wide open

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. Read more »

Ready, set…

costelloCongratulations to tenor Stephen Costello, who today was officially awarded the ceremonial title of  Villazóneinspringer at the Vienna State Opera.

No, actually, he’s jumping into two performances of La boheme, replacing Rolando Villazón, on September 6 and 9. Read more »

Fais pâlir les étoiles!

costello_thumbLa Cieca just heard that Stephen Costello goes on tonight (i.e., in just a few hours) in Roméo et Juliette at the Salzburg Festival opposite Anna Netrebko. He’s jumping in for Piotr Beczala, who, if you ask Norman Lebrecht, is probably malingering with a South Seas cutie.

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“That concept is insane!”

“Director Manfred Schweigkofler conceives a new production that pits the Capulets and Montagues against one another as dueling fashion houses. Against a backdrop of models, paparazzi and high style, Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other unfolds to its deadly conclusion.” [Opera Company of Philadelphia]

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it started with steve

La Cieca has just heard that Stephen Costello is the 2009 Richard Tucker Award Winner.

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le coeur a ses raisons

In today’s Dallas Morning News, Scott Cantrell explains how Stephen Costello “steals [an] aging queen’s heart.”

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battle of the bulges

“WHAT in GAY hell was jumping around him?” exclaims a puzzled YouTube fan, and La Cieca agrees that even the gifted Stephen Costello seems nonplussed by, well, all that gay hell. (This clip is from a recent Rigoletto performance.)

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three tenors

Premiere Opera Podcast has returned after a hiatus of several months, and, as always, Ed Rosen keeps us up to date with the latest tenor activities. Recent episodes include excerpts from a duo recital (Juan Diego Flòrez and Rolando Villazòn) and a Lucia scene from Stephen Costello.

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