cher public

La Cieca has finally found a way to harness the massive intellectual prowess of her commenters for what she hopes is a good and peaceful purpose. From time to time she is asked for recommendations on, well, this and that, and she’s realized that you, cher public represent an paralleled resource for advising, counselling and…

on May 09, 2007 at 8:12 PM

La Cieca (not pictured) reminds her cher public that tonight’s 40th Anniversary of the Met at Lincoln Center gala will be the subject of an online chat right here at parterre.com. The program, starring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, begins at 7:00 PM and so the chat room will open at 6:45. Maestro Bertrand de…

on April 03, 2007 at 10:38 AM

Something new and interesting (La Cieca hopes) on Unnatural Acts of Opera: a 2004 concert performance of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, starring Anna Netrebko (Giulietta), Daniela Barcellona (Romeo) and Joseph Calleja (Tebaldo). Act One is the current podcast, with the second to follow on Friday. Speaking of the lovely Miss Netrebko, she and…

on March 28, 2007 at 10:47 PM

The final act of Loreley is hardly the only attraction on the current episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera. La Cieca also salutes the birthdays of three of the greatest sopranos of all time, and, can you believe it, presides over the return of one of your all-time favorite features, “The Enigmas of La Cieca.”…

on February 25, 2007 at 1:02 PM

In her unceasing effort to keep you, her cher public, in touch and yakking, La Cieca has discovered a way to set up an always-open, always-active chat room launching directly from parterre.com. (For the technically minded among you, it’s an applet called Yaplet, and, yes, La Cieca realizes that it sounds about as silly as…

on February 21, 2007 at 12:01 AM

La Cieca is [adjective] to announce that over [number] of her cher public were moved to [blank] the “MadLibs” competition. The [adjective] five entries will win an [adjective] DVD for their authors. The first-among-equals grand prize winner’s composition will be performed on Unnatural Acts of Opera as the next installment of the “Apocryphal Opera Anecdote…

on February 01, 2007 at 3:41 PM

La Cieca’s cher public are, as in so many aspects of their existence, well ahead of the curve on foreknowledge of casting at the Met in the bel canto and German wings. Perhaps this wintry Friday is a good time to move on to a more semi-substantiated gossip, now on the subject of the operas…

on January 26, 2007 at 8:44 AM

A radio script that La Cieca promised to deliver tonight sits unfinished, and only you, cher public, can save the doyenne’s bacon. The best completions will be eligible for lavish prizes. If you care to give the old girl a hand, just follow this link.

on January 25, 2007 at 6:31 PM

Don’t forget to join La Cieca at 8:00 tonight for a live chat about the prima of The First Emperor at 8:00 p.m. Would any of La Cieca’s cher public care to give her a hand as moderators in the chatroom tonight? To serve, as it were, as Roger Alberto to her Vecchia Madelon? Well,…

on December 21, 2006 at 4:45 PM

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?

on December 21, 2006 at 12:31 PM

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…

on December 17, 2006 at 2:38 PM

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…

on December 17, 2006 at 12:34 PM

You asked for it, cher public: the Renee Fleming dance remix.

on December 15, 2006 at 11:47 PM

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…

on December 14, 2006 at 6:03 PM