Sounds of silence
“Don’t sing anything but teensy bits of Mozart until you’re at least 40…”
Questo e Quello
Normative
La Cieca is sort of out of words trying to describe what makes a great performance of the role of Norma, as opposed to the conscientious traversal of the notes.
“Not Convincing as a Drama”
“Miss Garden has made a new and striking impersonation as the heroine of this opera.”
And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you
Alluring soprano star Danielle de Niese, wife of Glyndebourne Opera boss Gus Christie, had that sinking feeling when she arrived for a performance at the Arts Club in Mayfair—and discovered her glamorous gowns were missing!
Bo, concept
The surprises, and puzzles, of Dmitri Tcherniakov‘s production of Don Giovanni in this DVD of a performance at the Aix-en-Provence festival begin before a note has been played or the curtain has risen.
Hell night
I got quite a surprise when I opened the latest packet of goodies from La Cieca – a DVD of Orphée aux Enfers, but in German as Orpheus in der Unterwelt.
Future unseen
Which erstwhile diva will be back, if not actually “back soon” (we’re talking 2016) to sing an opera she’s performed before at the Met, though not the same role?
Sediziose voci
Oh, signor Johnson
La Cieca is going to go out on a not very long limb here and say that Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West is a great role for Jonas Kaufmann and may well turn out to be one of his three or four greatest.
V for Violetta
ollowing La Cieca’s meager example above, the cher public are encouraged to devise images of album covers based on Renée Fleming’s Guilty Pleasures
CD.
A couple of swells
It’s almost curtain time, cher public, so get started on your discussion of off-topic and general interest subjects.
Strike a Posa
It’s just a teensy bit late for Verdi’s birthday, but La Cieca thinks you’ll enjoy the latest vocal ID challenge, cher public.
The music lovers
The curious things about accepted wisdom is that sometimes it’s correct.
Brother act
The Jesi foundation continues its tireless quest of making Pergolesi operas available on video.
Blind spot
Which honcho in the Met’s administration is retiring this spring, leaving a major gap in the chain of command?
Ugly and small
“Modern opera studiously avoids anything so old-fashioned as melody or emotion, which seems to me a contradiction of what music is all about.”
Whimper
“Opera America, a service organization for opera companies, has expressed interest in purchasing City Opera’s thrift shop…”
O nube! che lieve per l’aria ti aggiri
Prominent local “billionaire scam artist” Alberto Vilar has asked for an extension on his court-imposed curfew so he may attend the Met’s Eugene Onegin and “socialize” afterward with the performers.
The rite of autumn
Queer Nation claims responsibility for tonight’s political action in Carnegie Hall, chanting “[Valery] Gergiev, Your Silence is Killing Russian Gays!”
The pearls are clutched
“The gloves are off, the chips are down; my patience has run out.”
Something happened up there, something not very nice
Emma Thompson will portray Mrs. Lovett in the New York Philharmonic’s staged production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Happy Birthday Giuseppe Verdi
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Swan of Busseto, La Cieca invites the cher public to share reminiscences of great Verdi performances—and YouTube clips, of course!
Pop, idled
“Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya has fallen ill and unfortunately has had to withdraw from singing the role of Hélène in Les Vêpres siciliennes in the final rehearsals and the first three performances in October.”
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).