Half and half
Andy‘s take on the Tommasini “lamentation” — The Opera House is Half Full.
La Cieca
BREAKING: Opera Enjoyed by All
The NYT’s ace scribe Bernard “Scoop” Holland breathlessly spills his latest discoveries about that newfangled entertainment called “opera” today. Didja know, for example, that a lot of opera is long and boring, but there’s this one opera called Cavalleria rusticana that’s not as long as most (” it’s the only opera I know that may […]
Sono vecchia diggià!
From today’s NYT “Dearth of Divas” — Leontyne turns time-traveler.
Vers des îles de fleurs
Tatiana Troyanos and James Levine perform “Asie” from “Shéhérazade” (Ravel/Klingsor).
How like a turtle the sun looks
Our story this far: 17 October 2006: La Cieca reports (erroneously) that Andrea Gruber is about to be “bought out” of a Met revival of La fanciulla del West. 20 October 2006: La Cieca discovers that the Fanciulla isn’t happening; Gruber and Salvatore Licitra possibly to be cast in the replacement opera? 21 October 2006: […]
Ugh!
Pronounced “oog,” as in Wowkle, that is. You may recall that La Cieca said something a few days ago about a rumored departure of soprano Andrea Gruber from a Met revival of La fanciulla del West scheduled for next season. Well, further information has filtered in that suggests a different story. You might say, in […]
Another giant leap
La Cieca has just heard that irresistable, irreverent, erudite Ira Siff will be Margaret Juntwait‘s guest during the intermission of tonight’s Sirius broadcast of Cav/Pag from the Met.
Millo in the house
To begin with: everybody was there. People you haven’t seen in 20 years were there. People you were sure were dead were there. (They were alive, at least as of the third intermission.) The house was quite nearly full, and there were no significant defections as the long evening wore on. Miss M herself began […]
God, that’s good!
Helena Bonham Carter has been announced for the role of Mrs. Lovett in the Tim Burton film version of Sweeney Tood. According to the announcement in Variety, La Carter will do her own singing of the Stephen Sondheim score. She will star opposite long-time Burton collaborator Johnny Depp, who will play the title role. The […]
Another unnatural chat
The Windy City’s own Enzo Bordello will host the next Unnatural Chat of Opera this Saturday night (October 21). Topic of the chat will be Lyric Opera of Chicago’s performance of Salome, which will be broadcast that evening beginning at 7:30 Central time. This is the prima of a new Francesca Zambello production of the […]
Take ten
The 1992 short film “All the Great Operas in Ten Minutes,” from YouTube.
Casting and recasting
La Cieca’s (of course) impeccably reliable sources are suggesting major casting changes afoot among the Met’s dramatic soprano roster. La Cieca hears that Deborah Voigt has expressed a strong preference for Italian roles in future seasons instead of the German vehicles she has mostly sung so far. Since Voigt’s rumored future engagements include a revival […]
Veils, song
As if those opera queens (you know La Cieca is talking to you, cher public) don’t already have more than enough to listen to, what with Unnatural Acts of Opera, plus Sirius Met Broadcasts, plus various streaming radio on the internet — well, now there’s lots more where that came from. Well, anyway, one more […]
My son the gypsy
The slow but stead Podlefication of New York continues next summer when Ewa herself sings her first local performances of Azucena. Now, by local, La Cieca means “a quick bus ride away,” because these performances of Il trovatore will be presented by the Caramoor Festival under the baton of Will Crutchfield. Opposite La Podles will […]
More mystery from Venice
UPDATE: Per Robert Tuggle of the Met archives, the “cancellation” of Millo’s Gioconda broadcast was actually a clerical error in the database. The show (and the Sirius) go on as planned on Wednesday night! Now, this is puzzling. As we all know, next Wednesday’s Met performance of La Gioconda (featuring Aprile Millo in the title […]
Presentation of the Rose
Not to poach on Bill Phair‘s territory, but… Ready or not, here comes Patti!
Revivals
JJ’s take on the Met’s current productions of Faust and La Gioconda is now on the web at Gay City News.
La nuit des cinq étoiles
As if the season were not glamorous enough, it’s already time for “The Second Annual F. Paul Driscoll Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence,” or, as some insist on calling the prize, “The Opera News Awards.” (No zing, no zazz, no punch…) Anyway, the lucky honorees this year are “Wagnerian tenor Ben […]
The news from Gaul…
… isn’t all bad, La Cieca hears. Scheduled for Toulouse in 2008, Anna Caterina Antonacci as Norma, opposite Sophie Koch as Adalgisa.
Lo, here and there the gentle lark
The legendary Florence Foster Jenkins, who until recently held the title “America’s Most Delusional Diva,” has gone bicoastal. The delightful play with music Souvenir, a “fantasia” on the life and exploits of La Jenkins, opens October 12 at the Brentwood Theater in Los Angeles for a month-long stint. Recreating her Tony-nominated turn as FFJ is […]
Io ne’ volumi arcani leggo del cielo
To paraphrase only slightly La Cieca’s dear friend Mrs. Lloyd Richards, “This beats all world’s records for running, standing and jumping Gaul!” Yes, cher public, that day we have all dreaded will soon arrive, because, so La Cieca hears, the contracts have been signed for a new production of Norma in Zurich, to be televised […]
Mysterious skin
Okay, maybe not all that mysterious, but it’s a very cool skin design for Unnatural Acts of Opera, plus what La Cieca hopes will be a more user-friendly interface. You can try out the new podcast player here, or skip on over to Unnatural Acts of Opera for the new player’s debut presentation, a 1969 […]
Model of taste
Our own JJ reacts to his recent “maple syrup enema” in Gay City News.
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
