Star, crossed
The key to enjoying Bellini’s I Capuleti e Montechi is to do a hard factory reset and reformat your brain to forget all other works based on Romeo and Juliet.
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Be my guest!
James Levine turns 72 this year. Even though his health has improved considerably in the past year and he may continue to conduct for a decade or more, it seems inevitable that he will step down as the Met’s Music Director sometime in the next few years to assume the role of Conductor Laureate.
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).
Ein sel’ger Engel dort zu werden!
I really wanted to post Victoria de los Angeles‘ Met performance of Elisabeth, but this recording is a more than acceptable substitute.
Bigger than a breadbox
On this day in 1950, the longest-running prime-time game show What’s My Line premiered on CBS.
The People’s Urwala
“Renée Fleming, like Krannert Center, embraces the art of our past, our present, and our collective future.”
Queen sized
The last day of December a parcel arrived in the mail containing an absolute delight: “Semiramide—La Signora Regale.” One of best vocal recordings of 2014, this sumptuous 2-CD set on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi features the marvelous Italian mezzo-soprano Anna Bonitatibus and includes 90 minutes of rarely-heard music written for the legendary Babylonian queen.
Enfin!
On this day in 1686 Jean Baptiste Lully’s Armide premiered in Paris.
Le tout New York
Now that everyone (who is everyone) is here, cher public, proceed with the off-topic and general interest discussion!
The Wizard of Atlanta
On this day in 1939 Victor Fleming replaced George Cukor as director of Gone With the Wind.
Neapolitan school
On this day in 1816 the Teatro San Carlo in Naples was destroyed by fire.
News has a kind of mystery
It’s that time of the year when the Met does its season announcement, cher public.
Le tailleur Bar
On this say in 1947 Christian Dior unveiled a “New Look”, helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
Singular sensation
“If Mozart had only had the sense to write Don Giovanni in a… single-performer format, last Wednesday’s revival at the Met would have been one for the ages.
Non son io, mio Carlo
“Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Luca Salsi will sing the role of Rodrigo in this season’s performances of Verdi’s Don Carlo, replacing Simon Keenlyside, who has withdrawn from the run due to illness.” So says the Met’s press department.
Mourning becomes Iphigenia
Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide (1774), the occasion of his Paris debut, gets far less respect than her sequel, Iphigénie en Tauride.
Fiddler on the fenestram
On this day in 55 A.D., Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman emperorship, died under mysterious circumstances in Rome, clearing the way for Nero to become Emperor.
Table bodied
Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Post no double bills
A sharp-eyed parterrian reports a poster of some sort (perhaps protesting Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev?) has somehow been affixed to the wall of the Met lobby at balcony level during tonight’s performance of Iolanta/Bluebeard’s Castle.
O luce di quest’animation
On this day in 1940, the first “Tom & Jerry” cartoon debuted.
The art of ‘Bel Canto’
La Cieca is sure that you will be as thrilled as Creative Consultant Renée Fleming over the 2015-2016 season at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Drop dead diva
My first experience with John Corigliano’s music was in high school with the ear and mind blowing score he wrote for Ken Russell’s film Altered States.
Meyerbeer me!
So, how well does Les Huguenots stand up in this, our modern world?
In questi fieri momenti
The program Anna Netrebko sang at Beaver Creek on Thursday included her first public performance of “Suicidio!” from La Gioconda.