Somewhere out there is a lady who I think will never be a nun
On this day in 1965, The Sound of Music premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York City.
Questo e Quello
Broadcast: La Traviata
More merriment tonight, cher public, with another broadcast of La traviata to discuss.
The top ten returns
A listing of the ten most-read parterre posts of February 2017.
Lait préludes
Does yummy Yannick Nézet-Séguin owe it all to dairy?
I never wanted to set the world on fire
Born on this day in 1917 songstress Dinah Shore.
All right on the western front
Silent Night is in a sense a giant middle finger raised against the conventional wisdom that musical sophistication requires inscrutability.
‘Dead Man,’ stumbling
The opera is relentlessly obvious, a work that repeatedly turns to tired tropes and canned characters to fill up its nearly three hour run time.
She can pull all the stops out
On this day in 1862 Gounod’s La Reine de Saba premiered in Paris.
Cards on the table
The Canadian Opera Company scored a coup when they secured Christine Goerke for the revival of their Ring productions over the last three seasons
Cross fit
Opera composers do not often change their spots.
Open source
Ted Hearne’s opera/oratorio The Source brings compositional process and combination of acoustic and electronic elements to the weighty topics of national security leaks, big data, and war.
A young me
Happy 82nd birthday soprano Mirella Freni.
Webcast: Semiramide
Watch and discuss, cher public, as the Bayerische Staatsoper streams a new production of Rossini’s Semiramide boasting a starry cast including Joyce DiDonato, Alex Esposito, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee.
Water, logged
So, how excited are you to read another piece about the Mary Zimmerman Rusalka?
“I have always been extremely rude, and got exactly what I wanted”
Born on this day in 1909 or thereabouts TV chef Fanny Cradock.
Plummeting in love
The Met’s current production of Verdi’s La Traviata is something of a mixed bag.
Broadcast: Rusalka
La Cieca invites everyone to discuss this afternoon’s broadcast and HD of Rusalka from the Met!
O heureuse Iphigénie
Our old, old, old friends at Opera Depot are belatedly celebrating the birthday of regal Régine Crespin by discounting all of her recordings at 50% off.
Looking daggers
On this day in 1911 Victor Herbert‘s opera Natoma premiered in Philadelphia.
Broadcast: La traviata
La Cieca invites the cher public (pictured, you do the math) to discuss tonight’s broadcast of La traviata from the Met, starting at 7:25 PM.
Wig schlock
Despite the participation of venerable composer Carlisle Floyd, the only distinction Prince of Players can claim is as the worst drag show in Manhattan.
I’ve never seen one as big as that before
The ineffable Fred Plotkin explains why, so far as he’s concerned, size doesn’t matter.
La mia voce tuonerà
Happy 83rd birthday soprano Renata Scotto.
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).