Once in half a lifetime
Then and now: the “Dio ti giocondi, o sposo” duet from Otello.
Video
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking
No, not a Regie quiz—though that feature will return soon enough now that the season is up and running—but rather an image from the new Dmitri Tcherniakov production of Jenufa for the Opernhaus Zürich.
Window of opportunity
You may recall a couple of weeks ago La Cieca spoke to Giuseppe Filianoti about the “lost” aria from Cilea’s L’arlesiana he had reconstructed to include in a concert performance of the opera.
Huis Clos
That most operatic of all operas, Il trovatore, has been done many ways, but here’s a first: the warhorse as bottle episode.
You got a brand new key signature
You can call Robert Lepage many things (and the critics have!), but one thing you cannot call him is “inflexible.”
Re-entrance
La Cieca (not pictured) has just accessed a new feature in YouTube that imported a dozen or so “classic” parterre video clips from Google Video into the familiar YouTube interface.
L’Âge d’Or
A friend of the box just reminded La Cieca that tonight, April 22, 2012 is the 40th anniversary of the farewell gala honoring Sir Rudolf Bing.
L’amour est un oiseau rebelle without a cause
Maestro Wenarto achieves video number 1,500 with this opéra comique take on the immortal “Habanera” from Carmen.
Happy Birthday Maestro Wenarto
Still going strong after (approximately) 1,500 YouTube appearances, Our Own Maestro Wenarto celebrates the anniversary of his birth today.
Turn the Regie up to eleven
No shortage of interesting guesses, but, alas, none of the cher public were only MontyNostry was able to identify last week’s Regie quiz by the three images chosen. The opera, in fact, was Pikovaya Dama, and that lady taking a nap in her corset in the third photo is none other than the title character. Some […]
Mite, gioconda, atroce
In preparation for tonight’s Angela Gheorghiu/Jonas Kaufmann Sternstunde at Carnegie Hall, La Cieca invites the cher public to share your favorite memories and YouTube clips of Adriana Lecouvreur performances present and past. (Photo: Alastair Muir)
No, after you!
The already notorious or celebrated or whatever it is version of the “Habanera” featuring (in alphabetical order) Maria Callas and Angela Gheorghiu: it’s been released, and you can experience after the jump.
“Dispettosetto questo riccio!”
La Cieca supposes that maybe the reason Angela Gheorghiu doesn’t include any music from Manon Lescaut on her new “Homage to Callas” CD is that she can’t quite identify with the character?
Atys for two
For those of you not fortunate or not conscientious enough to attend Atys at BAM this week, there’s a video document of the production (taped earlier this year) following the jump.
“Pity that it’s not a hurricane”
Since this lyric will not be sung in the Broadway revival of Follies this weekend (the performances are canceled), La Cieca has decided to invite the cher public to share their own favorite operatic hurricanes, storms and tempests. Your doyenne will start you off, after the jump.
Love, love and love!
Jummy Jonas Kaufmann and awe-inspiring Anna Netrebko team for the great duet from Manon, as heard last night at the Waldbühne Berlin.
The long matinee
Here’s your discussion thread for this morning/afternoon’s webcast of Lohengrin from Bayreuth, cher public. La Cieca herself is grabbing a bite of lunch and will join you later!
Attack of the killer metaphors
“It’s difficult to push a boulder up a hill, recognizing that we’ll never get there,” says George Steel, adding, “If I have to take tomatoes from here to there, I can live with that.” For a translation of that poetic flight of fancy, La Cieca has resorted to Josephine Baker, after the jump.
Die Frau Ohne Schallplattenaufnahme
Not a fairy kingdom, but rather an unheated postwar Vienna ballroom transformed into an improvised recording studio: that’s the setting for Christof Loy‘s new production of Die Frau Ohne Schatten at Salzburg. The production is also (if not more so) notable for Christian Thielemann‘s virtuouso conducting of the Vienna Philharmonic and the hair-raising performances of […]
Car men
Following the jump, about 45 minutes of highlights from last week’s telecast of Bizet’s opera from the Gran Teatre del Liceu, as sung by Fabio Armiliato, Béatrice-Uria Monzon, Maria Bayo and Kyle Ketelsen, directed by Calixto Bieito.
Will the real Odabella please stand up?
La Cieca’s operative in San Francisco writes: “SFO’s marketing for the upcoming production of Attila has offered a rotating door of Odabellas. Sadly, as of the latest update, I’m fearing the musical chairs may have landed on the least favorable of the announced divas.”
Allons enfants de la Public
What better way to celebrate le 14 juilliet than with a provocative piece on opera by and about two of La Cieca’s favorite revolutionaries, Zachary Woolfe and Gerard Mortier (respectively), followed by cries of “Liberté, égalité [and especially] fraternité!” from that madcap maven of musical mirth, Maestro Wenarto (after the jump.)
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).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
