Questo e Quello
“Our patrons are also our investors, and because many of our core subscribers are also our most generous philanthropists, we need to make sure that our programming jives with their expectations, what they’d like to see onstage.”
While the celebrity-studded, expensively-dressed audience gathered for the gala opening of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2015-2016 season seemed genuinely enthralled by Monday evening’s performance of Otello, it was more likely swept away by the power of Verdi’s genius than by Bartlett Sher’s puzzling, inert new production.
On this day in 1964 Fiddler on the Roof opened at the Imperial Theater in New York City, to run for 3,242 performances.
The results are in for the 2015 fall season poll, and now La Cieca will know where to find the cher public, including some rather out-of-the-way places.
Along with Don Giovanni, Carmen is an odd bird on the list of the most beloved and frequently performed works.
There is a simple elegance to the single-composer recital album format. For the listener in the mood for, say, Puccini, it’s a chance to delve into his music without any pesky interruptions by those other guys like Verdi or Massenet. And if one is also in the mood for a particular singer’s art, then the…
For those of you who can’t make it to the Met’s opening night, I am happy to provide you the opportunity to experience another Otello with a cast that was unmatchable for 1981.
On this day in 1948 Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle premiered on NBC.
“Hailed ‘the Meryl Streep of opera’…” begins one sentence of a promotional piece for a Diana Damrau recording of another opera, reproduced on the soprano’s website.
On this day in 1833 Charles Darwin rode a horse to Buenos Aires.
La Cieca is pleased as can be to announce that our friends at Opera Depot (not pictured) are offering a whopping 60% off on all German opera recordings all week long.
On this day in 1928 Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in Steamboat Willie, a film that will enter the public domain on January 1, 2024.
The breaking news from San Francisco Opera is that Nadine Sierra will sing the title role of in a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, replacing Diana Damrau, who will not.
Anna, Bart and Peter talk about the Met’s new season with the always engaging Michael Cooper of the New York Times.
Paleo? LAP-BAND? Food poisoning?
How this slipped under La Cieca’s radar she’ll never know: the premiere of a new opera based on the Tintin adventure Les Bijoux de la Castafiore.
“I have ideas about Zerlina.”
On this day in 1809 the second Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (designed by Robert Smirke) opened with a performance of Macbeth followed by a musical entertainment called The Quaker.
Sills at the peak of her powers and Handel’s 1743 secular oratorio make a perfect match.
Read and heed!
On this day in 1964 Bewitched premiered on ABC.
Naming rights, Sunday performances, an extension of the Met’s lobby forward into Lincoln Center Plaza . . . Peter Gelb puts all that and more on the table.
Emue aux larmes, la diva lui a donné son consentement.
On this day in 1977, Maria Callas left this world. Do you remember where you were?
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
