blind item
Which beloved American opera company is urging patrons to keep the faith by hiring a controversial artist as its next General Director?
59 comments
If you already know the answer to this one, keep it under your hat!
Sponsored
Call for submissions: parterre box‘s new Talk of the Town
parterre box is launching a new themed regular feature curated by our readers and opera fans across the world! We are asking for your favorite clips, recordings, and anecdotes to get people chatting, listening, and thinking.
Which much-lauded gem of an American artist is about to emerge from retirement?
Are plans for reopening America’s opera houses in the winter of 2020-2021 unrealistic?
Sponsored
Reach your audience through parterre box!
parterre box, “the most essential blog in opera” (New York Times), is now booking display and sponsored content advertising for the 2023-2024 season. Join Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Warner Classics and many others in reaching your target audience through parterre box.
Which company plans to rescue opera, or at least their abbreviated season for 2020-2021, by programming a complete work for their opening night…
Which soprano, who’s so talented you’d think her career would go on forever, has quietly decided to retire following her current not every eventful season?
Which diva, whose performance of the first act is admittedly note-perfect, is making management lose sleep because she’s hasn’t yet attempted the second or third? (Maybe they’re worried she won’t cancel.)
Which red-ink stained opera company’s backers have made broad hints that they want a full-time director and fundraiser onboard — instead of the current General Director who can barely spare one day per week?
La Cieca hears that Andrea Bocelli dropped by the Met yesterday to audition for Peter Gelb. The accompanist, on dit, was none other than James Levine!
Which Met diva has just vetoed her renascence as a bel canto grande dame? So daunting a role must have given her cold feet, or at least mistle toe.
Admittedly, this item is ancient history, but here goes. Which curious, sexed-up Met hunks invaded a star dressing room and immediately got their original instruments a whole lot closer than an octave apart?
Which Metropolitan Opera diva has eased her transition into the visual-intensive Gelb era with the assistance of a plastic surgeon recently featured in W magazine and the New York Post? This Park Avenue doctor’s “short scar” facelifts promise a dramatically rejuvenated jawline with shorter recovery time and minimal scarring — just the thing for those…
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?
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…
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, top reads from us and our friends.
Delivered to your email weekly…ish.