A certain person soon to return from exile has a tale to tell:

“So, the nameless Wanderer sat down and posed some questions to the groveling Mime. ‘You have heard and believed the accepted wisdom. Are you willing to put your ears where your mouth is?'”  

Saturday promises:

11:00-2:00 LRT KLASIKA: SIMON BOCCANEGRA from Madrid — Placido Domingo is a desecration in a baritone role or he is a sympathetic and musical Boccanegra.

1:00-5:00 CBC TWO: KATYA KABANOVA — Mattila is past her prime and Jovanovich will never reach his or they form an exciting pair of lovers.

1:00-5:15 CESKY ROZHLAS VLTAVA: DIE WALKURE from Paris — Wagner singing is dead or it only needs a perceptive conductor to support the voices.

1:00-3:30 DEUTSCHLANDRADIO KULTUR: DIE DREI PINTOS — Mahler was right to complete Weber’s project or we should respect the composer’s original intention to die before finishing it.

1:00-5:00 KBYU: IL TROVATORE –Sandra Radvanovsky is a valid Verdian or she is merely channeling Mary Curtis Verna

1:00-5:00 NPR World of Opera: LA BOHEME – Can Krassimira Stoyanova carry a performance or are enough people interested enough in Costello’s genital area to tolerate his singing?

1:00-5:00 KUSF: IL TRITTICO from San Francisco — Singing all three female roles is an impressive feat or the only notice goes to a Polish mezzo onstage for 8 minutes.

1:00-4:00 NRK KLASSISK: CARMEN from Vienna –Micaela is a supporting role or Not when when Netrebko is singing it.

1:00-5:00 RADIO CLASICA DE ESPANA: LUCREZIA BORGIA Edita Gruberova is our greatest active diva or WTF?

1:00-5:30 RTP ANTENA 2: RHEINGOLD from Bayreuth — Bayreuth is a valid opera house or else no Rheingold weighing less than 45 tons is worth wombat pee.

1L00-5:00 WCLV, WRTI: ARIODANTE from San Francisco — Cangemi, Swenson, and Croft singing Handel is pure Heaven or if I hear one more da capo aria I will eat my own esophagus.

1:00-5:30 WETA: IL PURITANI — Desire Rancatore is the next great bel canto hope or WTF?

1:00-5:00 WFMT: LA FILLE DU REGIMENT from San Francisco — JDF and Damrau trumps JDF and Dessay

2:00-7:00 RADIO STEPHANSDOM: GOTTERDAMMERUNG Bayreuth, 2008 — Christian Thielemann evokes architectural nuance more than any conductor since Felix Mottl or how long is the line at the Ladies Room now?

Fortunately, there will probably be more choices by airtime tomorrow.

La Casa della Cieca, cleaned and aired out since the opening night chat, will be open for business as usual.