The galley that is called Despair
On this day in 1914 Riccardo Zandonai‘s Francesca da Rimini premiered in Turin.
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String of pearls: the Met’s 2015-2016 season
The Metropolitan Opera’s 2015-16 season will present 227 opera performances in a varied repertory, ranging from rarely performed masterpieces to perennial audience favorites.
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).
Whoever she is
On this day in 1930 Luigi Pirandello‘s Come Tu Mi Vuoi premiered in Milan.
Ebben… domani
The Met announces its 2015-2016 season tomorrow at 1:00 PM, cher public, and La Cieca knows you will all be here to discuss and dissect
One for the woad
Ellen Douglas finds herself in Act II of Rossini’s La Donna del Lago in the far from unusual operatic position of having her love claimed by two impassioned tenors in the bel canto version of a macho drag race.
Tsar quality
On this day in 1598 Boris Godunov was chosen tsar of Russia.
Night and dreams
At the Opernhaus Zürich, the coat check is not optional.
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.
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.
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.