The lion in stereo
A great man has passed and our consolation is that so much of his art has been preserved for us on recordings.
Recent Stories
Timor di me? Security!
“Anna Netrebko (Leonora) is seen during the Il Trovatore photo rehearsal on August 4, 2014 in Salzburg, Austria.”
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).
Breaking apart
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.
Only connect…
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.
Yours, mine and ours
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.
Restoring Clara’s notes
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.
On wings of Sondra
Sondra Radvanovsky lent her luminous voice to Chamberfest for what was an unexpectedly unique recital.
Namenlos in Lieb’ umfangen
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.
There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about
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.
Blood and Sandow
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.
Back from the dead?
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.
Campus radical
“Mr. Burden did his best to wrestle with what looked like a disused Dale Chihuly chandelier, but…”
Tall in the saddle
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.
And another thing
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…
Hosenschlange
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.
Rough trade and regie
Meet Tobias Kratzer (left) who is scheduled to direct Tannhäuser for Bayreuth in 2019.
Tomb raider
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?
Calpesta il mio cadavere!
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.
Dog days
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.
Carlo Bergonzi 1924-2014
The legendary and beloved Italian tenor died earlier today. He was 90.
Fun with graphs
La Cieca has come into possession of an interesting presentation, with fonts and everything, from Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, outlining their solution for the current financial crisis at the Metropolitan Opera.
Fairy tale
“Conduct Salome and Elektra as if they were by Mendelssohn: Fairy music.” Seriously, how often has that happened?
Monster ball
I have banged on and on about doing an “Abscheulicher” quiz for years.