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Peter Gelb has single-handedly ravaged the finances of the Met not only during his own incumbency, but in the distant past as well.
La Cieca looks forward to seeing (in the virtual sense) all her cher public bright and early tomorrow morning for the webcast of the controversial production of Der Rosenkavalier from Glyndebourne.
It’s time to bring out the canard again, this time a whole row of them in fact.
Even before Italian diva Mariella Devia had completed the stunning high D natural that capped her miraculous portrayal of Elisabetta in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux Thursday evening at Carnegie Hall, tens, then hundreds of those in attendance leapt to their feet to shout their acclaim.
“Quaint camp, says Rupert Christiansen.”
The NY Phil Biennial, a new music festival that is dedicated to new music, kicked off its first season at a drowsy time on the performing arts calendar, the week after Memorial Day.
AGMA’s Alan Gordon cries “Havoc!” and lets slip the dogs of war, and by “dogs” La Cieca means “artist managers.” It’s another email, leaked after the jump.
“Even Mary Garden herself is said to be in a state of mind because Mme. Bourskaya has been given several of Mary’s best roles.”
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.
This week’s operatic offering from Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin goes out as a request. Our Own Camille asked for (and got) a little Mercadante in the mix, a live performance of I briganti from 2012.
La Cieca suggests the cher public kick off this week’s round of off-topic and general interest discussion with a little speculation as to which of Grace Moore‘s repertoire of operatic roles Miss Kathryn Grayson is enacting on this poster.
Live from the Bayerische Staatsoper this very afternoon, cher public, Bernd Alois Zimmermann‘s Die Soldaten, featuring the protean Barbara Hannigan.
That fount of received wisdom Heather Mac Donald is at it again, calling out Our Own JJ for his desire to see a more varied and thoughtful dramatic reading of Rusalka at the Met.
Oh, Christ, can you fucking believe a spokesperson for the Met chorus is still clanking on about the price of the poppy field in Prince Igor?
This week’s gem from the Mike Richter collection is all the more precious for its rarity: a performance of Fauré’s Pénélope starring ravishing Régine Crespin.
The battle of the management-labor emails continues with Alan Gordon demanding Peter Gelb fire his driver.
Some ideas are so absurd that the only way to describe them is to simply use the liner notes.
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.
…Miss Garden never even turned her head, although the noise was directly behind her.”
Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin has unearthed a hunk of prime Verdiana: a live 1972 Forza del Destino starring Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli.
The Cleveland Orchestra’s premiere performance of Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen proved to be both a critical and audience success.
With the help of our friends at ArtHaus Musik, the Deutsche Oper Berlin have really been emptying out their archives and that’s certainly all for the good.
Noted exemplar of Viennese frivolity Deborah Voigt will sing her first performances of The Merry Widow with Michigan Opera Theater in April 2015.
La Cieca hopes her cher public will not be at cross purposes when addressing this week’s off-topic and general interest subjects.
Starting in just half an hour, a live broadcast of Faust from De Nederlandse Opera starring Michael Fabiano and Irina Lungu.
The apparently underemployed mezzo Alice Coote has been hitting the laptop again, this time delivering a rant that only makes sense if you read it aloud, slurring, “An’ another thing!” after each paragraph.
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