Nun of a kind
“None of that sentimental crap, okay?”
barihunk
Dead Man Walking
Yannick Nézet-Seguin conducts Ryan McKinny, Joyce DiDonato, Latonia Moore, and Susan Graham in the season opening night and Metropolitan Opera Premiere of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Dead Man Walking.
"Shirtless Teddy Tahu Rhodes Doing Push Ups"
Oh, what more delightful headline can be imagined? Well, perhaps “Florida free-fall sends Giuliani from hero to zero” — that’s great news too. But back to important matters. Did La Cieca mention that for his current stint in Dead Man Walking The Teddster has shaved his head?
Tit for tat
La Cieca has Maury D’annato to thank for (passively) calling her attention to the blog The Opera Tattler, which in recent days has been detailing next season’s plans in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other opera companies of the Transhudson. (The) Opera Tattler also reviews a lot of West Coast opera, and at least so […]
Do you come from a land down under?
Here’s Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Don Giovanni at Opera Australia. La Cieca is, for once, speechless. UPDATE: Imagine La Cieca’s surprise when she found out there is already video of this production!
Lookism? Again?
Yet another rehash of the great voice vs. waistline debate, this time in the Chicago Daily Herald. Nicole Cabell laments the scarcity of European gyms, while “hunken-tenor” Joseph Kaiser plants his feet firmly on both sides of the fence by declaring, “Essentially if you can be healthy about being healthy, that’s the balance to find […]
Holy….!
More photos of Erwin Schrott and (by the way) a story about the Washington National Opera’s new production of Don Giovanni at PlaybillArts. (A Don G. this hot may well transform DC to AC!)
Bendel bonnet, Shakespeare sonnet, Mickey Mouse
Maury D’annato: “Isn’t there probably some sort of unspoken crypto-paleo-musico-semantic rule governing that baritone=top and tenor=bottom?”
Return to Oz
Teddy Tahu Rhodes stars in the first Australian production of Dead Man Walking. To which La Cieca can only respond, “Nathan Who?”
Flash Mab
The Met’s star-crossed revival of Roméo et Juliette has just hit another bump. Nathan Gunn, announced for Mercutio, has dropped out of the September and October performances of the opera due to illness. Jumping in will be baryhunque Stéphane Degout, who performed Mercutio in this production back in 2005. Gunn is still on the cast […]
Rocky Mountain low
UPDATE: A source at Opera Colorado informs La Cieca that there is in fact no exodus currently in progress from the company’s costume shop. La Cieca apologizes for the confusion. Earlier, La Cieca reported that her “mile-high informant” whispered that “Colorado Opera’s entire costume department just quit in a huff. Or was fired in a […]
Royal, with cheese
Which one of these things is not like the others? [Nathan] Gunn is part of a new generation of performers, including Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, British soprano Kate Royal and Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez, who have helped fuel a debate about the physical attributes of opera singers. Once again, La Cieca’s Rule of Journalistic […]
"Well, when you’re from Pittsburgh, you have to do something."
Interesting choice of words in this PlaybillArts headline: Nathan Gunn Pulls Out of Billy Budd in Pittsburgh
Enchanted April
Beginning April 1, San Francisco Opera will begin broadcasting its regular season again for the first time since 1982. The opener is Manon Lescaut featuring Karita Mattila as the notorious party girl. Says General Manager David Gockley, “After decades with no regular broadcast series, this is truly a landmark announcement for San Francisco Opera. Through […]
Tony’s Award
“The Papageno, Nathan Gunn, was certainly cute enough.” — NYT
Bel canto lushinghier
La Cieca thought that now that Puritani has opened at the Met, it’s as good a time as any to review the company’s (rumored) bel canto plans for the next five years or so. Remember, everything in this life is uncertain, so please regard these “predictions” as the gossip they are. Anyway, La Cieca hopes […]
Cuir eye
A couple of photos of barihunk Simon Keenlyside in full leather… … from the Royal Opera House’s season brochure!
Nackt und Träume
La Cieca is always quick to encourage the clever use of Photoshop, especially when it involves her two favorite subjects, i.e., opera and naked guys. That’s why she strongly recommends a look at the site called Bare Naked Men, where the Vancouver-based “Michael” digitally strips such hunks as William Burden, Nathan Gunn, Simon Keenlyside, David […]
Bleak bummer
Which soprano’s sudden cancellation of all her future engagements thankfully has nothing to do with illness, and everything to do with, well, spite? She was in love, and he she loved proved bad, and did forsake her. For his secretary. Since the songbird’s soon-to-be-ex-husband still has an interest in her future revenue stream, she has […]
Tony has died and gone to heaven
Among the extra-musical delights in the New York City Opera’s production of Mark Adamo‘s Lysistrata, definitely front and center is baritone James Bobick, who rocks the role of Kinesias. (He is seen pictured with Jennifer Rivera. Try looking a little up and to the right and you’ll see her.) Mr. Bobick next appears at the […]
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).
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!
