La cambiale di matrimonio
In order to spare the cher public the agony of sitting through the Met’s Don Giovanni again, La Cieca offers this brand-new video from the Teatro Rossini di Pesaro.
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Singing in the reign
Happy 61st birthday soprano Maria Guleghina!
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).
Agrippina
Starring Brenda Rae, Joyce DiDonato, Kate Lindsey, Iestyn Davies, Duncan Rock and Matthew Rose, conducted by Harry Bicket. From February 29, 2020.
Das Rheingold
Frank Castorf’s staging of the Ring, premiered in 2013 and filmed in 2016, provoked controversy right from the beginning. For Castorf, the Rheingold of our days is oil; thus he places the first part of the tetralogy at a gas station on Route 66.
Parsifal
Starring Waltraud Meier, Siegfried Jerusalem, Bernd Weikl and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. From March 28, 1992.
Unless you are a cheese
Born on this day in 1884 actress and singer Billie Burke.
Madama Butterfly
Starring Kristine Opolais, Maria Zifchak, Roberto Alagna and Dwayne Croft, conducted by Karel Mark Chichon. From April 2, 2016.
Poisons of interest
Trove Thursday uncovered two broadcasts of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia that share a fascinating nexus: in each an enduring superstar tenor—José Carreras/Alfredo Kraus—is poisoned by a soon-to-vanish rising-star soprano—Vasso Papantoniou/Margarita Castro-Alberty.
A pride of Leos
Born on this day in 1619 soprano Barbara Strozzi.
Simon Boccanegra
Starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, Vladimir Chernov and Robert Lloyd, conducted by James Levine. From January 26, 1995.
A mighty woman with a torch
On this day in 1884 the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe’s Island.
Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Starring Erin Morley, Hibla Gerzmava, Kate Lindsey, Christine Rice, Vittorio Grigolo and Thomas Hampson, conducted by Yves Abel. From January 31, 2015.
Der Rosenkavalier
Camilla Nylund, Günther Groissböck, Michèle Losier and Nadine Sierra star, under the baton of Zubin Mehta.
Inside, outside
“While Renée Fleming performed without an audience, DG Stage offered Puccini’s beloved melodrama Tosca before an outdoor crowd in Naples.”
Call me Debbie
Happy 60th birthday soprano Deborah Voigt.
The Magic Flute
Or, frankly, TBA. If you of the cher public can come up with something more interesting than this dreary Flute, La Cieca would be more than happy to go with that.
“Sing your age”
Happy 61st birthday baritone Simon Keenlyside.
Die Walküre
Starring Christine Goerke, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jamie Barton, Stuart Skelton, Greer Grimsley and Günther Groissböck, conducted by Philippe Jordan. From March 30, 2019.
Day at the museum
Renée Fleming presented a satisfyingly eclectic and quietly daring program of songs and arias, an interesting timestamp on a career that, despite its crepuscular vibe, seems as active as ever.
Transcendental
Happy 83rd birthday soprano Gundula Janowitz.
Ernani
Starring Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes and Ruggero Raimondi, conducted by James Levine. From December 17, 1983.
Renée Fleming Live in Concert
The Undiva cuts loose at Dumbarton Oaks.