A tiny cog in the great wheel of evolution
On this day in 1939 Ninotchka, starring Greta Garbo, premiered.
Recent Stories
Presenting…. in person…
Born on this day in 1912 American actress June Havoc.
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).
The magnificent amber daughter
Happy 79th birthday to dramatic soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones!
Cherchez la femme (fatale)
Lilith. Pandora. Circe. Salome. “La Belle Dame sans Merci.” Carmen. Brigid O’Shaughnessy: the eternal “femme fatale” still fascinates us.
Too much virtue can be criminal
Born on this day in 1692 French poet Louis Racine.
Titus interruptus
This week’s “Trove Thursday” unearths Il Tito, a beguiling work by the inexplicably ignored Italian master Antonio Cesti.
Multicolored
Polish singers are chameleons. They have to be.
Do you know because I tell you so
On this day in 1872 suffragist Susan B. Anthony voted for Ulysses S. Grant.
No sleep, no rest
On this day in 1890 Prince Igor premiered in St. Petersburg.
Apocalyptic post
“We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.”
Hell on wheels
Absent from Chicago Lyric Opera’s repertory for 21 years, Alban Berg’s Wozzeck came roaring into town on Sunday afternoon in a stunning new production by Sir David McVicar.
Myths, matched
“CanCon”, or Canadian Content, is always a concern in Canadian cultural discourse.
The cold never bothered them anyway
On this day in 1952 Clarence Birdseye began marketing frozen peas.
Imitation of life
La Cieca applauds Time Square concessioneuse Madame Tussaud for lending her exhibits as an added attraction at the Richard Tucker Gala
Martyr system
William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants made a much-anticipated appearance at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival Saturday performing Theodora.
L’univers frémit d’amour!
Chances are that if you know the title Esclarmonde, you pretty much already know the basics.
How firm a foundation
Take a moment, cher public, to thank our splendid parterre.com advertisers for the month of November.
Barton glances
The annual Richard Tucker Gala is probably the event of the year to indulge your love of verismo staples and can belto screaming.
It may be that there is no place for any of us
On this day in 1971 the musical The Grass Harp opened at the Martin Beck Theater, to run seven performances.
What is this sister of yours, a deep-sea diver?
“The reorganized company’s first several seasons would present productions ‘already judged an artistic success and box-office favorite’ elsewhere, such as Bizet’s Carmen and Streetcar Named Desire.”
Ow, my keyboard!
A milestone of sorts is reached today at parterre.com: La Cieca and her team of experts have posted 7,000 articles on this WordPress-powered site since May 2005.
“Du hast eine halbe Million geheiratet”
La Cieca is gratified and even mildly humbled to announce that parterre.com garnered over half a million pageviews in the month of October, representing over 30,000 unique visitors.
I did say so, when first I raised the tempest
On this day in 1611 Shakespeare’s romance The Tempest was presented by the King’s Men before James I at Whitehall Palace.