Woman of the golden west
Born on this day in 1926 soprano Maralin Niska Dice.
Questo e Quello
Zhit’! Zhit’! Zhit’!
La Cieca thinks you can guess how elated she is that Anna Netrebko has actually become Auntie Mame.
We love you, Ms. Hannigan
Could Barbara Hannigan be Joni Mitchell’s classical counterpart?
Starting from scratch
Happy 83rd birthday actress Joanna Barnes.
Scream and scream again
Born on this day in 1926 soprano Leonie Rysanek
Just Heaven!
Astonishing Anna Netrebko intones the “Monologo di Fedra” at a dress rehearsal of Adriana Lecouvreur.
Broadcast: Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly live from the Met at 7:25 PM.
Change the world – I want to get off
A dozen women or more talk and sing about all sort of important and exciting things, with “a man” near the bottom of their list of priorities.
Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes
A wonderfully committed Ailyn Pérez and Gerald Finley at Saturday afternoon’s revival abetted by Emmanuel Villaume’s passionate conducting converted me to a Thaïs believer.
Allowing the birds to nest in your hair
In the seventies and eighties Dominick Argento (who turned ninety this year) was one of the most oft-performed of American opera composers.
Check yourself before you Rex yourself
On this day in 1940 the animated film Fantasia produced by Walt Disney and starring Leopold Stokowski (not pictured) was released.
Broadcast: Adriana Lecouvreur
The broadcast debuts of Anna Netrebko‘s Adriana and Piotr Beczala‘s Maurizio.
Popp star
Born on this day in 1939 soprano Lucia Popp.
Broadcast: Thaïs
“C’est Thais, l’idole fragile qui vient pour la première fois.”
Big bang
Born on this day in 1917 soprano Gertrude Grob-Prandl.
Dramatic ark
On this day in 1970 the Richard Rodgers–Martin Charnin musical Two By Two opened on Broadway.
Over the garden wall
Renée Fleming makes her belated “Trove Thursday” debut as Sandrina in a rare early performance of Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera.
“I can’t play a slave”
Born on this day in 1922 actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge.
“That audience embrace has unbelievable power”
Born on this day in 1912, more or less, actress and playwright June Havoc.
Look at these people: aren’t they eerie?
I’ve always believed that Follies, like life, should be relentless and inescapable.
Call me by your namesake
John Adams and Peter Sellars didn’t bother to learn a fucking thing about the Puccini masterpiece whose title they stole.
Babylon revisited
What if you could time travel back to the first run of Giuseppe Verdi’s first great success Nabucco?
Hostage situation at Met enters second week
Breaking: The New York Times‘ 24/7 all-Exterminating Angel all the time coverage continues .
The name of the Rosenkavalier
Happy 81st birthday soprano Gwyneth Jones.
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).