Recent Stories
The news from New York has been rather dire these last few weeks, cher public; La Cieca is the first to admit that.
Coming up on Sunday, La Cieca (not pictured) will host a live chat during the webcast of La traviata from the Glyndebourne Festival.
“Camilla hopes the new work will make opera ‘more mainstream.'”
“The dark clouds hovering over Mr. Gelb should not obscure his very real achievements.”
A great man has passed and our consolation is that so much of his art has been preserved for us on recordings.
“Anna Netrebko (Leonora) is seen during the Il Trovatore photo rehearsal on August 4, 2014 in Salzburg, Austria.”
I guess we can assume the season is going to happen, because the cast changes are already starting, and the Met’s press office is on it, you guys.
La Cieca has discovered that the independent auditor chosen by the Met, AGMA and Local 802 to report on the company’s finances, Eugene Keilin, is a major donor to the Met, giving at least $25,000 in 2011-2012 according to that season’s Annual Report.
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Goodnight, Irene
Goodnight, Irene
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
Grand Tier Grab Bag features the American Zwischenfach mezzo Irene Roberts ahead of an eclectic season of Wagner.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Poetic license
Poetic license
Parterre Box shines a light on Liparit Avetisyan, who made his Met debut as Alfredo earlier this spring.
Parterre Box shines a light on Liparit Avetisyan, who made his Met debut as Alfredo earlier this spring.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Frau Miina-Liisa will es werde Nacht
Frau Miina-Liisa will es werde Nacht
Parterre Box features soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä, making her title role debut in Die Walküre in Munich next week, in a performance of Tristan und Isolde from 2021.
Parterre Box features soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä, making her title role debut in Die Walküre in Munich next week, in a performance of Tristan und Isolde from 2021.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Lux aeterna luceat eis
Lux aeterna luceat eis
Grand Tier Grab Bag this week honors the late Limmie Pulliam with a bit of his Verdi Requiem.
Grand Tier Grab Bag this week honors the late Limmie Pulliam with a bit of his Verdi Requiem.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Kathryn the great
Kathryn the great
Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.
Parterre Box previews Kathryn Lewek‘s upcoming Salome with clips of her as another unhinged lady of antiquity.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Count your blessings
Count your blessings
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Fast-rising Verdi baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbataar is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Our own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin goes all-American with a performance of The Ballad of Baby Doe starring Ruth Ann Swenson, James Morris and Judith Forst.
Whilst the theatrical doctor attempts to restore the voice of Mrs. Billington, you, the cher public, are asked to fill up the time with discussion of off-topic and general interest subjects.
Sondra Radvanovsky lent her luminous voice to Chamberfest for what was an unexpectedly unique recital.
SiriusXM is broadcasting right now a 1981 performance of Tristan und Isolde featuring Gwyneth Jones (pictured) and Spas Wenkoff, with James Levine conducting the work that season for the first time in his career.
Those of you who read this site faithfully (and I know there are one or two of you) will be interested to know that a boycott of parterre.com has been organized by fellow blogger Bari-Chunks.
Friend and friend-in-law of parterre box Greg Sandow pours the oil of calm and rational analysis upon the troubled waters of the Met’s current labor negotiations in the most recent installment of his always excellent (not to mention eponymous) blog.
AGMA and Local 802 have agreed to the Met’s proposal that Allison Beck, a representative of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, be appointed immediately to mediate negotiations, working with both sides to find a compromise agreement.
“Mr. Burden did his best to wrestle with what looked like a disused Dale Chihuly chandelier, but…”
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
Patrizia Ciofi should have made it to the Met
Patrizia Ciofi should have made it to the Met
The artist who I feel should have made it to the Met is Patrizia Ciofi.
The artist who I feel should have made it to the Met is Patrizia Ciofi.
The Talk of the Town
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never made it to the Met
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never made it to the Met
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never sang at the Met.
Giannina Arangi-Lombardi never sang at the Met.
The Talk of the Town
Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo should have made it to the Met
Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo should have made it to the Met
This Mireille duet unites Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo and shows the timbral and stylistic qualities that made them exemplary.
This Mireille duet unites Andrée Esposito and Alain Vanzo and shows the timbral and stylistic qualities that made them exemplary.
The Talk of the Town
Ebe Stignani and Anita Cerquetti should have made it to the Met
Ebe Stignani and Anita Cerquetti should have made it to the Met
Subtlety is for cowards, say the blazing Anita Cerquetti and the blaring Ebe Stignani.
Subtlety is for cowards, say the blazing Anita Cerquetti and the blaring Ebe Stignani.
The Talk of the Town
Sena Jurinac should have made it to the Met
Sena Jurinac should have made it to the Met
Sena Jurinac, a celebrated Mozart and Strauss singer here as the Composer, a signature role.
Sena Jurinac, a celebrated Mozart and Strauss singer here as the Composer, a signature role.
The Talk of the Town
Janet Baker should have made it to the Met
Janet Baker should have made it to the Met
The divine Dame Janet Baker never sang at the Metropolitan, sadly for American audiences.
The divine Dame Janet Baker never sang at the Metropolitan, sadly for American audiences.
I put together a video just for a bit of fun today, looking at the standard “warhorse” operas that opera companies tend to throw at us year after year, and offering some alternative operas that could be offered in their place.
The MET Orchestra musicians who, we are assured, ‘love the Metropolitan Opera and want it to succeed” have revised their PPT deck to identify what they claim is an additional $1.2 million in cost savings to the company…
Die langen schwarzen Haare nach hinten gegelt, in schwarzer Hose und Hemd und Schlangenmustermantel zeigt er bodygebuildete Muskeln, die gut und gerne darauf schließen lassen, dass er auch Ähnliches in der Hose haben könnte.
Meet Tobias Kratzer (left) who is scheduled to direct Tannhäuser for Bayreuth in 2019.
Despite the continued popularity of Der Freischütz in German-speaking countries, are the magical mature operas of Carl Maria von Weber otherwise really so problematic, their libretti so unwieldy to explain their continued absence from the world’s stages?
This week, Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leizmetzerin turns her vigilant ears to the recent past to take in a performance of Il trovatore featuring Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo.
As the clock continues to tick on the Met’s impending labor crisis, La Cieca is sure the cher public will have plenty to say about off-topic and general interest subjects.
The legendary and beloved Italian tenor died earlier today. He was 90.
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