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You only thought the “Brokeback” Eugene Onegin was the gayest possible take on the Tchaikovsky “lyric scenes.” Now, along comes La Cieca’s fave director Stefan Herheim‘s extravagant, transgressive, high-camp symbolist (and about a dozen other adjectives) approach to the work, “gay” in the very best sense of gay sensibility. Video after the jump!
A trailer for the experimental film The Violinist, promising “strange drama… sex… drugs… and classical music.” And, oh yes, with billing yet, Our Own George Steel.
The ever-alert PR people at the English National Opera (why can’t we have a company like this?) have assembled a “what if?” video to promote Nico Muhly‘s impending Two Boys, and thrown in an admirably scruffy “reality” actor to boot.
Meet Jacques Snyman of South Africa, former rugby player, current fitness model and anti-bullying activist, and possible future opera star.
And now, live from Pittsburgh, one of La Cieca’s newest and nicest friends, Web 2.0’s answer to Louella Parsons, the inimitable Rowna Sutin with her video review of the Met’s production of Die Walküre!
La Cieca usually leaves the barihunks to, well, Barihunks, but thanks to a tip from a very loyal parterriano indeed, meet Edwin Crossley-Mercer, a lyric baritone who really does seem to have it all. (Is it fair, La Cieca asks, that besides everything else, he looks like a young(er) Anderson Cooper?)
A quick clip from today’s telecast of Anna Bolena; unfortunately the sound is slightly out of synch and the stage director is more than slightly “Kulturbanause.” But, still: Anna!
La Cieca was a little disappointed that so few of you guessed at last week’s Regie quiz, since the opera (though not the production) has been the subject of so much discussion the past few days. That’s right, it’s Anna Bolena, as directed for the Luzerner Theater by Tobias Kratzer. A trailer for this show,…
Three of the Met’s most cunning vocalists, Juan Diego Flórez, Joyce DiDonato and Diana Damrau, wrap their tongues around the trio from Le Comte Ory.
La Cieca (not pictured) invites the cher public to gather around for a chat tonight during the Met’s season premiere of Pikovaya dama, beginning at 8:00 pm.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, Christopher Maltman (among others) in Kasper Holten‘s Juan.
Having completed her season of Giulio Cesare in Paris, Natalie Dessay next takes on Lucia di Lammermoor in New York. A glimpse of the soprano’s Handelian chops and perhaps a hint of her current vocal estate, after the jump.
“The People’s Diva,” who brought so much darkness and so much hope to us in 2010, is 52 years young today!
The evergreen American diva was born February 10, 1927.
Many happy returns to two big-voiced, big-haired sopranos who are still very much with us!
Though the day is almost over, it should not go without marking that today is the 50th anniversary of the debuts at the Met of Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli, one of the red-letter nights of the Rudolf Bing regime.
Der Rosenkavalier is exactly 100 years old today, a century after the world premiere of the Strauss/Hofmannsthal comedy at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden. La Cieca invites the cher public to share favorite Rosenkavalier memories and YouTube clips.
La Cieca doesn’t know what to say here, which is absolutely okay in this case because the YouTube after the jump makes all, all clear.
If you’re like La Cieca, you’re snowed in today, so how about let’s pass the time recalling great operatic snow moments?
A loyal member of the cher public writes: “Very nice performance of Fanciulla last evening. Although I still love Debbie, and am quite willing to see her in anything she does, I think this was the best of the three Fanciullas I’ve seen so far.”
The Bulgarian diva was born December 15, 1934.
La Cieca’s favorite Puccini opera premiered exactly 100 years ago tonight!
The prolific “Swan of Bergamo” (as he is almost never called) was born November 29, 1797.
La Cieca has managed to nab a few moments of video of tonight’s performance of Vec Makropulos from San Francisco, proving that Karita Mattila is indeed today’s ideal interpreter of the role of Emilia Marty. [Video]
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.
