La Cieca must be getting her librettos confused. She knows that Baby Doe promises she will wait for Horace Tabor near the entrance to the Mineshaft. And, of course, back in the late ’70s, any number of Gotham-based operatic evenings wound up at this venereal venue. But this is the first time La Cieca has ever heard that Manon Lescaut was a devotee of S&M — as evidenced by her participation in this blistering scene:

This photo (by Dan Rest) is from Playbill Arts’ feature on the new Lyric Opera of Chicago production production of the Puccini opera. And note that the caption reads: “bottom: Karita Mattila as Manon Lescaut.” And La Cieca was sure Karita was a top!