I kiss your hand, mademoiselle
Enough with the polite formalities, cher public, and on with the weekly discussion of off-topic and general interest subjects.
Recent Stories
Deception
On this day in 1917 Puccini’s La Rondine premiered in Monte Carlo.
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).
Metro opera
On this day in 1976 the Washington DC Metro opened.
Oh, de’ verdi anni miei
“The Met’s revival of Verdi’s Ernani Friday night was every inch a tragic opera, though without being grand in any way. Its grisliest calamity was not the one the composer devised but rather one the production’s star, Plácido Domingo, brought on himself.”
Birthdays are celebrated when they are no longer dangerous
To celebrate the 90th birthday of Pierre Boulez, our friends at Opera Depot are offering a free download of excerpts from his epochal 1976 Ring cycle at Bayreuth as well as steep discounts on all other Bouleziana.
Woodsman
On this day in 1955 “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” became the #1 record in the United States.
Tale of the tape
As the Deutsche Grammophon producer for the 1972 Metropolitan Opera Carmen recording, I was delighted to read Patrick Mack’s review of its recent re-release on a surround-sound/stereo CD set.
Curtain down! Kill the lights!
On this say in 1961 Gypsy closed at the Broadway Theater after 702 performances.
Olio
On this day in 1913 the Palace Theater opened at 1564 Broadway in New York City.
Between two worlds
If works like Salome and Erwartung defined modernism in the first decades of the 20th century, Die Tote Stadt and Palestrina represented the regressive avant garde.
Mais nous voyons à nouveau La Carmencita
The opening night of the Metropolitan Opera of September 1972 was supposed to be the dawn of a new era.
Big river
Was he listening to a lot of Meyerbeer?
Upper crust
On this day in 1901 Dame Nellie Melba revealed the recipe for her eponymous toast.
All futures great and small
The Metropolitan Opera yesterday afternoon was an uncommonly cozy place, as the auditorium was packed to the rafters with friends and family members of the nine National Council Audition Finalists.
Fireworks
As I leaned forward the woman in front of me turned to her seatmate and very quietly, in a voice thick with emotion and not a few tears, said, “it’s so beautiful.”
Et in Arcadia, libido
A performance space called the Sheen Center has opened its doors way down the far end of Bleecker Street, a stoner’s throw from where CBGB’s used to thrive beside the itsy-bitsy Amato Opera House. (You never forget your first Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio.) Sheen Center, sizable and modern and slim on personality, contains two […]
“Madame Patti is up there on the stage, Cornelius!”
If you can tear yourself away adrming from the scenery long enough, cher public, now’s the time for conversations on general interest and off-topic subjects.
Text appeal
What makes Norma such a high-profile role in the soprano repertory?
Glorifier
Born on this day in 1867 American director and producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.
Woolfe at the door
Longtime Friend of the Box Zachary Woolfe (left) climbs onto the masthead of the New York Times as their new classical music editor, starting Monday.
From a distance
Off the Peg
On this day in 1991, the Los Angeles County Superior Court awarded singer Peggy Lee $3.83 million in her lawsuit against the Walt Disney Company.
Protestant movement
La Cieca is sure that Meyerbeer fanatics will be delighted to hear that the Royal Opera House Covent Garden is preparing a new staging of Les Huguenots.