Enterprising Manhattan troupe Gotham Chamber Opera will announce tonight their participation in the commission of a new American opera, Dark Sisters, composed by Nico Muhly with libretto by Stephen Karam, conducted by Neal Goren, and directed by Rebecca Taichman.
In 1890 Cavalleria rusticana had taken the whole world by storm and in the next decade or so, hordes of composers, willing or unwillingly, jumped on the Verismo bandwagon. La navarraise (1894) is generally considered Jules Massenet’s homage to the genre, and for a long time the two works were often performed together. Emma Calvé, […]
At long last, complete details on how you, the cher public, can join the party for the First Ever East Coast Parterre Meet and Greet this November 14. Details after the jump.
With the new opera season about to begin in The Venue Formerly Known as The New York State Theater, what better time to recall what else David H. Koch does with his spare billions, i.e., conniving to deprive Americans of affordable healthcare, as well as “to conflate crony capitalism with free enterprise, and free enterprise with […]
On the way to the OONY comeback concert at Carnegie Hall last night, La Cieca ran into an old, old, old and utterly anonymous friend who had recently had a tête-à-tête with an associate of that publicist who recently parted ways with that celebrated Opera MILF. Well!
Which tenor twink was cruising everything in pants in the men’s room at Carnegie Hall tonight? And do you think he will behave thus when he returns to the Met later this season?
Lyric Opera of Chicago has entrusted their new Macbeth to Barbara Gaines, Artistic Director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, whose work can be frustratingly inconsistent. She has directed the finest Troilus and Cressida and the finest King Lear that I have ever seen. Yet her recent work has been filled with wretched excess and effects […]
In Measha Brueggergosman‘s newest DG release, “Night Songs…” Oh… sorry! That was Renée Fleming‘s beautiful 2001 Decca release of similar (occasionally overlapping) material. Let me try that again. “In the Still of Night…” Oh… sorry! That was Anna Netrebko‘s voluptuous CD of Russian songs released earlier this year.
Roberto Alagna, star of tonight’s pair of one-acters by Opera Orchestra of New York, discusses divorce and desserts with Our Own JJ. [New York Post]
First of many to associate our most recent Regie quiz with King Lear was WeillFan. It’s not exactly King Lear, but rather a work called Promised End by Alexander Goehr based upon scenes from the Shakespeare tragedy. This next puzzler is probably not Shakespearian, but then again, La Cieca has been know to be wrong […]
“Thirty years after the action of Tahiti the young son, Junior, is now gay and possibly schizophrenic; his former lover is married to his younger sister, Dede. During his mother’s funeral Junior starts a striptease in front of his father, knocking into the coffin in the process…. This was neither the sound nor the subject […]
Of course you’re all busy this afternoon with the HD of Boris Godunov, right? Oh, pardon me, you’re reading this, aren’t you? In that case, maybe you’ll take some of Betsy’s suggestions for the weekend pick a little chat a little.
Two versions, and it’s hard to say which one is more revolting, of one of the least savory moments in the life of Leonard Bernstein.
Our Own JJ has launched yet another blog (king of all media that he is), this one devoted to the study of Regie in all its forms and formats. It’s over at MusicalAmerica.com, and the author has given La Cieca permission to invite you all to comment. [Rough and Regie]
Forget all the others: we’ve found our Anne Welles! [Opera News]
“After a 15-year collaboration that catapulted Renée Fleming from just another plush-voiced soprano to a glamorous, genre-crossing household name, the singer is parting ways with legendary publicist Mary Lou Falcone.” [New York Observer]
“At some point, Met officialdom will have to recognize the continuing failures of the current arrangement, under which the titular artistic director of the company, James Levine, makes sure that he gets the singers he wants for his own performances and seems content to leave Mr. Friend to improvise the remainder of the season.” How […]
La Cieca is sure that at least a few of the cher public will want to tune in and sound off this evening as the Met broadcasts La boheme on Sirius and the online Listen Live. The Grigolity begins at 8:00 pm!
La Cieca (third from left) is delighted to announce to her cher public (also pictured) the first-ever East Coast Parterre Gathering , since, after all, we can’t let the West Coast chapter have all the fun! Your doyenne proposes an outing on Sunday, November 14. Details are after the jump.
La Cieca hears that Placido (“Simon Boccanegra is the only baritone role I’m interested in singing”) Domingo is going to expand his repertoire yet again, to Athanaël in Thaïs, sometime in 2012. The role after that, La Cieca hears, will be eponymous, but as of now the title is known to only a few chosen […]
Some people have a lot of clout around the opera house. For example, take that diva who protested a tenor scheduled to sing opposite her. Even though he’s just won glowing reviews, the company replaced him with a less daunting colleague. With the lucrative buyout money and unexpected gap in his schedule, our tenor was […]
“There’s a lot of Bernstein in many of the characters. [In François] there’s that fantasy of bisexuality or a gay man suddenly turning straight.” [Time Out New York]
I tried so hard to like Elina Garanca’s Habanera, an album of songs and arias about gypsies, but it was really difficult. I would’ve been able write this review earlier and quicker if I could just make myself like the album a lot, or even dislike it so that I could rail against the project […]
There is no peace for Verdi in Parma. As a second production of its Verdi Festival the Teatro Regio presented I vespri siciliani on October 10, starring Giacomo Prestia as Procida, Leo Nucci as Monforte, and the lovebirds Daniela Dessì and Fabio Armiliato as Elena and Arrigo.
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).
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