At long last (but far more than worth the wait!), the latest episode of The Entertainment Beat with Frances Gumm is online. If you haven’t listened to this marvelous series, well, you just don’t know show biz.

And, before La Cieca slumps into unconsciousness, please let her thank the almost 100 participants in tonight’s live chat on the Volpe Gala. Frankly, without the chat, La Cieca would have found the whole thing a crashing bore (all except that Hvorostovsky/Pape/Zajick sequence in the second half) and probably would have switched the radio off. La Cieca promises her cher public that “Chez Cieca” will re-open for business next fall (as the Met broadcast season begins) at the very latest!