Broadcast: Aida Broadcast: Aida

Let’s all sing “O terra addio” to the those crumbly styrofoam pharaoh toes.

In the baroque midwinter In the baroque midwinter

It’s been a rough winter in Chicago, and an especially rough one for lead singers at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Once in love with Amy Once in love with Amy

“Trove Thursday” leaps to the end of the cycle with a slightly abridged Götterdämmerung featuring Amy Shuard as Brünnhilde.

She’s the top She’s the top

Happy 88th birthday soprano Mady Mesplé!

Born to be wild Born to be wild

Happy 75th birthday soprano Kiri Te Kanawa.

Take the long way Rome Take the long way Rome

Russell Thomas’s opening aria, “Del piu sublime soglio” displayed an intense attention to the text and some surprisingly beautiful piano phrasing that I’ve never heard risked before and it brought wonder and gooseflesh.

Tone police Tone police

Sixty years ago today, Berg’s Wozzeck was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera. 

Broadcast: Joyce DiDonato sings opera, jazz and tango! Broadcast: Joyce DiDonato sings opera, jazz and tango!

Joyce DiDonato and her band fuse Italian Baroque bel canto classics, jazz ballads, and tunes from the Great American Songbook into one illuminating musical program.

Have not saints lips? Have not saints lips?

On this day in 1830 Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi premiered in Venice.

The old song and dance The old song and dance

The most disappointing performance in 30 otherwise glorious years of William Christie and Les Arts Florissants visiting New York City.

Like a virgin Like a virgin

On this day in 1970 mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Adalgisa.

Broadcast: La Fille du Régiment Broadcast: La Fille du Régiment

The Met season’s final performance of the Donizetti romcom begins at 1:00 PM.

The cradle will shock The cradle will shock

Birthday anniversaries of composers Kurt Weill (1900) and Marc Blitzstein (1905).

Our retrospection will now be all to the future Our retrospection will now be all to the future

La Cieca is delighted to announce that the most popular posts for the month of February dealt primarily with the Met season yet to come.

Cri du coeur Cri du coeur

Sondra Radvanovsky returned for her 29th Met Aïda Thursday night (but only her second Aïda.)

And now a word from our sponsors And now a word from our sponsors

La Cieca and the gang down at parterre box extend our sincerest thanks to our angels whose largesse keeps our blog blogging: sponsors Carnegie Hall, Mirror Visions Ensemble and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Manon with a plan Manon with a plan

On this day in 1913, the Met revived Manon with Geraldine Farrar and Enrico Caruso, Arturo Toscanini conducting.

“The weight of this sad time we must obey” “The weight of this sad time we must obey”

If Glenda Jackson, who is 82 years old, can whip through King Lear in two hours and 45 minutes, then how is it that La Traviata at the Met slogs on for over three hours?

Thousands cheer Thousands cheer

Although Gustav Mahler never wrote an opera, his colossal Eighth Symphony “The Symphony of a Thousand” may give us some glimpses of what a Mahler opera might have sounded like

She came to prove him with hard questions She came to prove him with hard questions

On this day in 1862 Gounod’s La Reine de Saba premiered in Paris.

Knight fever Knight fever

It’s an 8:00 PM curtain tonight for the Met’s Falstaff.

Alpha doge Alpha doge

West Bay Opera’s sterling production of Verdi’s I due Foscari played over the last two weekends.

Disappearing act Disappearing act

Tenor Matthew Polenzani and pianist Julius Drake’s performance left this listener in a a state of euphoria.

Whenever you cough Whenever you cough

Ardent Angel Blue will jump into performances vacated by the collapsible Sonya Yoncheva at La Scala.