quiz
More Geheimnisregie. What’s the opera? (Hint: it’s not Carmen).
That “Cate Blanchett” Traviata we were talking about earlier? Turns out there’s video of the dress rehearsal.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
The people have spoken, and they have chosen Winpal as the author of the wittiest Season Brochure. Congratulations to Winpal and all you cher public who participated!
Which opera is this? And for bonus Cieca Bucks, which scene?
Excellent lines from some of the many, many “Season Brochures” that didn’t make the final five. Soprano Montserrat Caballe stars as Jeanette, a virginal pony who for most of the opera is disguised as a mysterious duck. Montserrat Caballe is perhaps best known from TV’s Sex & The City where she sang the lilting melody…
Now is the time to restore La Cieca’s faith in the democratic process, cher public! The polls will remain open until midnight on Thursday, December 6. Remember, the winner receives a gift certificate from amazon.com. Which is your favorite Season Brochure? The 1924 Season for Parma Grand Opera by Julian The 1954 Season for Selma…
Not the clearest sound, but, oh my dear, could those girls ever sing back then!
Yes, it’s yet another Geheimnisregie quiz. Which opera is this?
La Cieca presents an all-purpose season brochure for an American opera company, done in the familiar “Mad-Lib” style. Enter text in the boxes below, then click the “Go Mad” button to read your version of The Season Brochure.
No, this opera is not Der Tee und das Mitleid. Rather, it’s . . . ? At least one of you has guessed correctly so far. Let’s see if we can reach a consensus with the help of an additional image.
Not the newest observation, but perhaps relevant again at the moment. So, tell me, what do these two ladies have in common (besides the family resemblance, of course)? [UPDATE: I’ve traded out the original image of Joyce Castle for something more representative.]
Another challenge from La Cieca: who is this Miss Lucy? The cher public will make their educated guesses in the comments section, please.
Create a caption for this photo:
Three photos from the same production this time. Guesses in the comments — and if you know the answer, please keep quiet while the others play!
La Cieca finally got herself back into the studio this evening for a podcast of the second act of Berg’s Lulu. This performance features the Orchestra and Chorus of the Vienna State Opera conducted by Karl Böhm on December 16, 1968. Anja Silja stars as the irresistible Lulu, with Martha Mödl, Ernst Gutstein, Waldemar Kmentt…
Once again, La Cieca asks: can you name that opera? UPDATE: As several of the cher public have guessed, this is a production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Specifially it’s a new staging at the Hamburg Staatsoper, directed by Christine Mielitz with sets by Hartmut Schörghofer and costumes by Renate Schmitzer. In the above photo, Giuseppe…
So, what’s this opera? (Guesses only, please – if you recognize the photo, sit this one out!) UPDATE: Well done, Atomic Wings! Indeed, this is a production of Norma, starring Olga Makarina, as produced at the National Theatre, Prague.
Well, no, Charles Wuorinen has not finished his Brokeback Mountain opera quite yet. In fact, this photo is from a new staging of a standard repertory work. Can you identify it? (Guesses only, please — if you know this production, please recuse yourself!) Click to enlarge.
Curiously, the response to La Cieca’s challenge to identify the ten “wrong numbers” she reached whilst trying to phone Milton Host has evoked something less than the usual excitement associated with an Unnatural Acts of Opera quiz. As such, your doyenne will make it easy for you by making available an excerpt from the Vestale…
Wow! Who is this Odabella? As several of you quick-witted commenters have divined, the mystery Odabella is none other than Eva Marton, who performed in Verdi’s Attila in 1972. As you watch this YouTube clip of the entire aria, thrill to la Marton’s precocious mastery of diva body language!
First: who is the singer? Second: why is she singing this aria? Who and why?
La Cieca is startled and delighted to note that there are already some very competitive entries in the “Nine Normas” quiz, including a likely prize winner. So that all you cher public may have the chance to put your vocal identification skills to the test, here’s the clip of The Nine Normas. Feel free to…
Surrounding the second act of D’Albert’s opera Tiefland on the current episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera is a veritable plethora of special features. First, La Cieca takes a telephone call from an icon of stage, screen and recordings (hint: she was the surprise star of Broadway’s Hit the Sky). Then our old, old, old…
The final act of Loreley is hardly the only attraction on the current episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera. La Cieca also salutes the birthdays of three of the greatest sopranos of all time, and, can you believe it, presides over the return of one of your all-time favorite features, “The Enigmas of La Cieca.”…
