Zach talk
Longtime Friend of the Box Zachary Woolfe (pictured) sits down with Marc Scorca of Opera America for a “Conversation about Opera in America,” implausibly enough.
Questo e Quello
Greene beret
Tuesday at 7:00 PM, WQXR’s Operavore and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts offer a sneak peek at “Verdi in Paris,” the theme of this year’s Bel Canto at Caramoor.
See note. Note? … Note!
“Adamo [not pictured] spent a year researching the story, and poured his learning into his libretto. It has 116 footnotes.”
Powder room only
Spare a few minutes, cher public, to discuss off-topic and general interest subjects.
Canard season
La Cieca has her old, old, old friend Enzo Bordello (pictured, left) to thank for this week’s canard, or rather, carnards, as Enzo has delivered a delicious brace of blunders.
The meme that wouldn’t die
La Cieca (pictured, lower right) has had time on her hands and access to Photoshop, a lethal combination—especially the day the new Anna Netrebko Verdi album cover has been leaked.
Servant of new masters
Morningside Opera’s ¡Figaro! (90210) is a staging/translation (into English, Spanish, et al.) of Le Nozze as if in contemporary Beverly Hills (as if!), and it’s playing at the NSD Theater on Bank Street near the Meatpacking District through next Sunday.
Forse, forse
Well done, you listeners to Mozart tidbits and participants in the “Non mi dir” competition.
Backstory
In August 1845 Alexandre Dumas fils ended his brief but passionate affair with Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis. He sent her a bitter letter that is often quoted in program notes about La Traviata.
Rogo for it
In an ever-changing world it’s comforting to know that the Parmigiani of the Teatro Regio continue their campaign through the Verdi canon not unlike the Allied Forces’ rout of the Germans at the beginning of 1945.
Pitch problem
How the quest for a lowered diapason ended with Renata Tebaldi serving as unwitting spokesperson for a libertarian cult.
The other gospel of the other Mary, Mary
San Francisco Opera’s marketing leaves La Cieca at least momentarily speechless, so she’ll have to rely on you, cher public, to take up the slack with discussion of off-topic and general interest subjects.
Claramae Turner 1920-2012
The American contralto, who created the title role in Menotti’s The Medium and introduced the song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” died May 18. She was 92.
Le canard de la semaine
La Cieca would like to introduce a new feature debunking a popular misconception about some aspect of opera. To kick of the series, let us take into consideration Manon Lescaut’s expedition into the “desert” of Louisiana.
O Engländer! Seid ihr nicht Toren…
As she herself points out, Zerbinetta is perhaps the first woman besides “the inimitable Heather MacDonald” to write a serious critique of Calixto Bieito‘s production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Shattered island
Some rare midweek chatting fodder turns up this afternoon when the Glyndebourne Festival webcasts Ariadne auf Naxos at 6:55pm BST/1:55pm EDT.
Highlight of the gods
Our JJ’s recent reminiscences over at WQXR about the whopping cost of a Ring recording back in the Mad Men era seemed all the more startling to La Cieca when she took a gander at a “new” live Ring offered by our friends at Opera Depot.
La nuit d’une étoile
“American tenor Matthew Polenzani sings the title role opposite Natalie Dessay as Antonia, Christian Van Horn as the four villains, Angela Brower as Nicklausse, Hye Jung Lee as Olympia, Irene Roberts as Giulietta and Jacqueline Piccolino as Stella.”
Deeds of kindness to review
For decades thousands and thousands have attended Handel’s Messiah (usually around Christmas or more appropriately near Easter) making it easily one of the most widely known works of classical music.
Cross purposes
We now take you to the Texaco broadcast booth for our weekly discussion of off-topic and general interest subjects.
Spanish panic
Here’s a glimpse of the Regie route Anna Netrebko and Placido Domingo will go in November when they make their role debuts in Il trovatore at the Berlin Staatsoper.
Pietà di me!
Perhaps, you, cher public, will be crying out the above-mentioned phrase when you hear the most recent vocal collage prepared by our dear DeCaffarrelli.
The Grand “Gatsby”
La Cieca doesn’t branch out into The Film very often (even though she is quite the ardent cinephile) but the recent release—or, at any rate, the reaction to the recent release—of Baz Luhrmann‘s film of The Great Gatsby served to crystallize a few ideas bubbling about in your doyenne’s brain.
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).