Weird sister

The inimitable, irrepressible Miss Tallulah Bankhead once more graces the studio of Unnatural Acts of Opera with a guest appearance on Apocryphal Opera Anecdote Theater. The legendary stage star joins Our Own La Cieca and Miss Cratchitt to perform a pair of scenes from Shakespeare's Macbeth. The main event, of course, is the second and third acts of Verdi's operatic version of the Scottish Tragedy, starring Shirley Verrett, Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Franco Tagliavini. Conducting this performance from La Scala on December 7, 1975 is Claudio Abbado.

Vox populi

You, the cher public, have spoken. By a firm plurality of 31%, you have selected Renata Scotto's Lady Macbeth as the "encore" to her Adriana Lecouvreur on the current episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera. Of the 238 ballots cast, the Scottish dame garnered 74 votes. Runners-up were Norma (50 votes) and Elisabetta in Don Carlo (47 votes). La Gioconda and Amelia in Ballo brought up the rear with 31 votes each.

Also featured on our current podcast: Apocryphal Opera Anecdote Theatre of the Air presents the heart-warming holiday-themed drama "La Cieca's Christmas Carol," with special "ghost" appearances by your favorites Tullio Serafin and Olga Cratchitt.