All fall down
La Cieca (pictured) asks, what are your eight (or even 10) can’t-miss opera events for the fall?
Questo e Quello
I couldn’t kill a fly
Happy 86th or 87th birthday actress Vera Miles.
Look who’s talking
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Infinite variety
Happy 62nd birthday playwright, actor and diseuse Charles Busch.
That’s how they did it
Idomeneo proved enormously moving while a much more complicated Così fan Tutte went for shallow romantic hijinks stripping that work of its darkly ambiguous disturbing view of love.
Can’t buy me love
dell’ arte Opera Ensemble continued its exploration of love and money by mounting Massenet’s Manon
It happened one knight
Falstaff, Verdi’s totally unexpected, final, great comedic roar.
Life does not owe me a shred
Happy 77th birthday actress Valerie Harper.
Fixture
“When you’re really quiet, you can hear the tinkling when they stop.”
I am not easily assimilated
On this day in 1986 the Charles Strouse / Stephen Schwartz / Teresa Stratas musical Rags opened on Broadway.
Daniela Dessì 1957-2016
Soprano Daniela Dessì has died of cancer. She was 59.
Just before the Battle, mother, I am thinking most of you
Those of you looking forward to enjoying a Broadway play based on the life of Kathleen Battle, starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, will have to go on waiting.
“I don’t think any novelist should be concerned with literature”
Born on this day in 1918 novelist Jacqueline Susann.
“After all that time, she can call Tristan ‘du’ surely”
Finally we know what Brian Kellow used to do at Opera News: proofreading.
The name game
“And what, after all, is this ‘love’ everyone keeps singing about and dying for?”
In those strange days, people coming from—God knows where—joined forces in that far Western land
On this day in 1848 the New York Herald reported the discovery of gold in California.
La Duchesse s’amuse
As promised, “Trove Thursday” offers Don Quichote chez la duchesse, a second nearly unknown opera based on Cervantes’ towering literary masterpiece.
Do you know because I tell you so
On this day in 1920, Amendment XIX to the United States Constitution was ratified.
Straniero, ascolta!
A sneak preview of perhaps the most intriguing track on Anna Netrebko’s forthcoming Verismo CD.
Pièce de résistance
I was hopeful that my next operatic engagement would offer greater rewards: Norma at the Edinburgh Festival.
A guy what takes his time
On this day in 1876 Wagner’s Götterdämmerung premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
Seliger Öde auf wonniger Höh’
On this day in 1876 Wagner’s Siegfried premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
‘Tale’ of the unexpected
I am happy to finally add Les contes d’Hoffmann to the playlist in a Salzburg performance from 2003 with Neil Shicoff in one of his parade roles.
Bridging the gap
On Saturday night, dell’ arte Opera Ensemble presented a lean performance of La Traviata.
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).