Questo e Quello
A member of the cher public who braved this afternoon’s performance of Das Rheingold at the Met reports that the Machine jammed halfway through the transition between scenes two and three.
La Cieca hears that the opening night of La Scala’s 2013 season will feature a new production of La traviata starring Diana Damrau and Piotr Beczala, directed by… no, not Franco Zeffirelli, but Dmitri Tcherniakov.
Giulio Cesare at the Met proved an evening that added up to much more than the sum of its uneven parts.
La Cieca has heard the rumblings (from you, the cher public) that we have not had a singer identification quiz in all too long a while.
The gripping Calixto Bieito/Kent Nagano production of Boris Godunov from the Bayerische Staatsoper—with authoritative Alexander Tsymbalyuk in the title role…
You don’t have to be Quechua to enjoy some of the outstanding CDs and DVDs to be released this month, but it can’t hurt.
Here’s recent Met debutante Liudmyla Monastyrska in that ultimate “furibonda” role, Abigaille in Nabucco.
This cozy video of Il Barbiere di Siviglia was recently re-released and will be of interest to those who are only familiar with Cecilia Bartoli‘s work after she became an international star.
La Cieca would like to take this opportunity to salute our sponsors for the month of April: Carnegie Hall and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
La Cieca invites you, the cher public (pictured) to discuss off-topic and general interest subjects.
“I’ve lived with mendacity!—Why can’t you live with it? Hell, you got to live with it, there’s nothing else to live with except mendacity, is there?”
The best joke in Offenbach’s delicious Orphée aux Enfers is the opening premise: Orphée and Eurydice are miserably married, due to her utter boredom with his old-fashioned music.
Last night, La Cieca finally got around to watching that documentary about the rocky road to the new Ring at the Met, and she has a thought or two about this whole brouhaha.
Our Own JJ (not pictured) just came running into the parterre offices wild-eyed with excitement.
Tenor Bryan Hymel has been named the recipient of the eighth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera.
The fabled verista celebrates the 103rd anniversary of her birth today.
“The spring season at the Met is as changeable as March weather in New York: crisp and brilliant for a day or two, and then suddenly as dismal as Thursday night’s Faust.”
Time to walk around a bit and discuss this week’s off-topic and general interest subjects, cher public.
Our Own JJ (not pictured) discussed “star quality” on WQXR’s Operavore program tomorrow afternoon at 12:30.
The glamorous and beloved mezzo-soprano died yesterday. She was 99.
“…the stage is crowded with grumbling members of the old guard who aren’t renewing subscriptions, disenchanted reviewers, vendors of vitriol on blogs like Parterre Box…”
All these years La Cieca has complained that nobody would write an operatic version of Valley of the Dolls, and what do you know?
The Brooklyn Academy of Music kicks off its 2013 Next Wave Festival launches with BAM/New York City Opera co-production of Anna Nicole.
Short as Roman emperor Eliogabalo’s reign was, the world sighed in relief when it was over.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
