La Cieca
Cher public, you all know that La Cieca just adores Beverly Sills, and your scribe simply dotes on the Met’s new web presence. But, entre nous, given the new quizmistress’s recent viduity, is this caption really in the very best of taste?
We have just heard that critic and opera fan Stephanie von Buchau has died.
La Cieca has only recently been able to catch up with the excellent programs produced by some of her podcasting compatriots. A particular delight is Handelmania, produced by the inimitable (and prolific!) Charlie Handelman. Each show is a virtual master class in the art of the recorded voice, and the current holiday-themed show is no…
Anna Netrebko again. Oddly, the aria is not “Da, chas nastal!”
Remember that prediction that La Cieca made about how Renee Fleming would bring her Norma into New York? Turns out that may have been inaccurate. (Yes, you have every right to be shocked and amazed. This is surely a first.) Yes, La Cieca hears, the Met is planning a production of the Bellini masterpiece, but…
“Tony Danza will play Max Bialystock in the Broadway production of The Producers starting Dec. 19.” — Playbill News On the stage of The ProducersMamma mia, I had a shock!Was that really Tony DanzaPlaying Max Bialystock?On the stage of The ProducersMamma mia, I had a shock!Was that really Tony DanzaPlaying Max Bialystock?Was that really Tony…
Roberto Alagna appeared on an Italian talk show this evening to explain (once again) his side of the walkout. The host is Pippo Baudo, the ex Mr. Katia Ricciarelli.
Join La Cieca on the evening of Thursday, December 21 for a live chat about the world premiere of Tan Dun‘s The First Emperor. The chat room will open for this special event at 7:30 p.m. and the yakking will continue until the final curtain. Check back at parterre.com on Thursday for a link to…
You may well be surprised to hear La Cieca say this, cher public, but she’s bellowing a lusty “brava” to none other than Renee Fleming. On yesterday’s matinee Met broadcast of Rigoletto, Fleming took on a role associated with Geraldine Farrar, that of intermission commentatress. One of the first questions she lobbed at Joseph Calleja…
You asked for it, cher public: the Renee Fleming dance remix.
Poorish quality video, but the soundtrack is familiar.
Which late-blooming soprano, hailed as a savior only last season, has now been stripped of her “prima donna” status? Who knew the winter would come so soon?
Per Opera Chic, Roberto Alagna is off for what promises to be an interesting weekend at Franco Zeffirelli‘s palatial villa near Rome. According to Alagna’s “Chief Counsel Avvocato” Marco Rocchini, the tenor will apparently spend much of the weekend in transit, since he plans a quick visit to Paris on Tuesday, and then will return…
Our editor JJ sounds off about the Alagnapalooza on WNYC’s “Soundcheck.”
You’ve seen the dress. Now you can hear the song! UPDATE: No, she wasn’t drunk, so far as La Cieca knows, and no, the singer is not Joanne Worley, it’s our Renaay.
Senator (and presumptive Republican Presidential nominee in 2008) John McCain is wasting no time in getting started with the necessary pandering. According to cnet.com, McCain has proposed legislation that would require “[m]illions of commercial Web sites and personal blogs … to report illegal images or videos posted by their users or pay fines of up…
Intrepid girl reporter Opera Chic has lead the blogosphere in her coverage of the recent Alagnadammerung. But who is this mysterious Opera Chic? An important piece of evidence has made its way into the greedy mitts of La Cieca: soon the truth may be told. Here we see a photograph of the poster for tonight’s…
BREAKING! La Cieca has been informed that a stray RAI microphone in the wings of La Scala picked up an emotionally heated conversation between Roberto Alagna and Franco Zeffirelli immediately following the tenor’s angry walkout on Sunday night. A translated transcript follows: FZ: Calm down. The gong rang. The fight’s over. RA: I will not…
First off, La Cieca should tell you that her producer/alter ego JJ will be heard this afternoon on WNYC’s talk show “Soundcheck” discussing (what else?) L’affaire Alagna. The program begins at 2:00 PM and JJ is scheduled to be heard in the final segment between 2:30 and 3:00. “Soundcheck” gained notoriety last month when uber-diva…
Yeah, I guess you have to figure that singing at such a low-profile, unimportant event as the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert really doesn’t merit investing in a whole new frock. I mean, the dress that everyone in the freaking universe has already seen on television is plenty good enough to recycle for the Oslo…
Milan is just one little corner of the world, after all. Meanwhile, back home in the ‘Side, La Cieca’s managed to podcast a couple of times in the past dizzying days: Unnatural Acts of Opera
Roberto Alagna sings “Celeste Aida” December 7, 2006 at La Scala. And for those of you who are interested, here’s how the Antonello “Fleet of Foot” Palombi sang the aria in 1998.
Well, it had to happen sooner or later, and so it did happen, sometime between last night and tonight. La Cieca has decided she’s taking Roberto Alagna‘s side in The Scandale. Yes, yes, La Cieca hears your gasps and snorts of disbelief and contempt, but you know, cher public, La Cieca is, deep in her…
There’s video of “Il momento dell’abbandono di Alagna e la precipitosa entrata di Palombi in jeans.”
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
