Questo e Quello
On this day in 1826, the Eggnog Riot began at the United States Military Academy.
Opera star Montserrat Caballé has reached a deal with the public prosecutor to receive a six-month prison sentence and a €240,000 fine for defrauding the Spanish tax office.
What does rankle your doyenne is the “Special Freddie” awarded to Christine Goerke, whose response is, well, perhaps a trifle less than completely ingenuous.
On this day in 1893 the opera Hänsel und Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck was first performed.
America’s own Renée Fleming (“Eight-lane-highway broad!”- New York Times) is going to plant her own tree on Broadway in the spring of 2015.
His shaved head in striking contrast to his dark beard and glinting eyes, the implacable Tartar conqueror glowers at us from the CD cover, while the uncropped photo of countertenor Xavier Sabata (above) is even more disturbing, featuring his raised fist and forearm tightly wrapped in a leather belt.
Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin gets serious for a moment, or rather for about an hour and a half, with a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis led by Christian Thielemann.
On this day 1894 the “Dreyfus Affair” began in France with Alfred Dreyfus’ wrongful conviction for treason.
On this day in 1914, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, the first feature-length film comedy, was released.
La Cieca (left) reminds her cher public that it is time once again for conversation about off-topic and general interest discussion on the very important and weighty subject of The Opera.
On this day in 1898 American actress and singer Irene Dunne was born.
On this day in 1881, Massenet’s Hérodiade premiered in Brussels.
Perhaps what was most exciting about last week at the Met was that there was nothing conventionally “special” going on.
On this day in 218 BC, in the Battle of the Trebia of the Second Punic War, Hannibal’s Carthaginian forces defeated those of the Roman Republic.
Verdi must have gotten tired of tossing and turning by now and has gone back to resting in peace.
Having heard a bit of the opening night broadcast and read some decidedly mixed reviews, I was totally unprepared for the remarkable performance of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena that I attended on December 15 at Chicago Lyric Opera.
On this day in 1965, the first concert was presented in Houston’s Astrodome.
Olga Peretyatko has officially left the chorus.
On this day in 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.
On this day in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association voted 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
Clemency tends to get a bad rap these days, as polities demand swift action by leaders whose mandates to govern are violently threatened by “terrorists.”
Something a little out of the ordinary from Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin this week: David Del Tredici‘s Final Alice, featuring the “original cast.”
The American mezzo-soprano and impresario died today in San Jose after a long illness. She was 89.
Your tardy doyenne (pictured) invites the cher public to make the most of what remains of this week to enjoy off-topic and general interest discussions.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
