Recent Stories
Finnish bass-baritone Tom Krause died Thursday. He was 79.
Our Own JJ takes on an old frame (Der Rosenkavalier) and a new (Eugene Onegin) in his latest review for the New York Observer.
Our weekly find from the Mike Richter collection: Le nozze di Figaro from the Bayerische Staatsoper with a geniunely A-list cast.
As the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of parterre box continue, La Cieca (left) introduces a new feature: each week, a vintage issue of parterre box, the queer opera zine, scanned into PDF format for handy download!
Twenty years ago, a sad and lonely gay man sat down with a pair of scissors and a glue stick and said, “I think I’ll make a magazine.”
Today would have been the 90th birthday of the quintessential prima donna.
“There’s no hiding it. I find some passages of Wagner insufferably tedious.”
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Grand Tier Grab Bag
When they go low
When they go low
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Nostalgic for bass month, Parterre Box offers excerpts from two young basses to watch: Giorgi Manoshvili and Patrick Guetti.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Nailin’ the coughin’
Nailin’ the coughin’
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Rosa Feola, still scheduled for a run of performances as Violetta in New York this spring, is the subject of this week’s Grand Tier Grab Bag.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Landing the plane
Landing the plane
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
With Nixon, Klinghoffer, and Andris Nelsons on the mind, Parterre Box offers a recording of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s recent John Adams outing.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Le galant tireur
Le galant tireur
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
American tenor Charles Castronovo performs a bit of Weber’s Der Freischütz ahead of the opportunity to hear Berlioz‘s take on the score at Carnegie Hall next week.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
My 600 performance life
My 600 performance life
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Parterre Box acknowledges Riccardo Muti‘s 600th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by highlighting two of his favorite singers — under a different conductor.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Life imitates art
Life imitates art
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
With Gustavo Dudamel in the spotlight at Parterre Box this week, Grand Tier Grab Bag foreshadows one of the New York Philharmonic’s upcoming operatic engagements.
As we wait for Tuesday’s festivities, cher public, let’s pass the time with conversation about off-topic and general interest subjects.
I think we’re all aware by now of the wicked libel that the French dramatist Victor Hugo concocted about the fair Lucrezia Borgia with his depiction of her as a murderous virago.
Why Rufus Wainwright is turning a Roman emperor into a cock…
“Nicholas Hytner‘s ENO production of Xerxes, unveiled on the 300th anniversary of Handel’s birth and packed with visual conceits, might be seen as marking the beginning of the modern Handel renaissance on stage.”
Jane Archibald will sing the role of Adele in all 14 performances of the new production of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus at the Met this season.
Among the many reasons La Cieca has to be thankful: the legacy of Mike Richter on his CD-ROMs.
Ambiguity. That’s the theme of the operas of Benjamin Britten (ennobled as Baron Britten of Aldeburgh).
“She said also her costume would probably be ‘a blaze of jewels,’ patterned after the image of a Madonna she saw in Rome last year…”
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from La Grunowa
A favorite Verdi performance from La Grunowa
I realize Igor Gorin did not sing much Verdi except for a few Papa Germonts, yet this performance of the famous baritone aria from Attila I claim is well-night perfect singing.
I realize Igor Gorin did not sing much Verdi except for a few Papa Germonts, yet this performance of the famous baritone aria from Attila I claim is well-night perfect singing.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Ryan Ellerman
A favorite Verdi performance from Ryan Ellerman
Luminous Lucia Popp’s “Caro Nome” beams with Gilda’s youthful passion, displaying Popp’s signature bright, beautiful timbre and magnificent coloratura.
Luminous Lucia Popp’s “Caro Nome” beams with Gilda’s youthful passion, displaying Popp’s signature bright, beautiful timbre and magnificent coloratura.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Marina Rebeka
A favorite Verdi performance from Marina Rebeka
While studying Un ballo in maschera for my Vienna role debut next January, I came across this beautiful ‘Ecco l’orrido campo’ amazingly performed by Montserrat Caballé.
While studying Un ballo in maschera for my Vienna role debut next January, I came across this beautiful ‘Ecco l’orrido campo’ amazingly performed by Montserrat Caballé.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Niel Rishoi
A favorite art song performance from Niel Rishoi
Hans Hotter masterfully captures the poignancy of this sublime Brahms Lied.
Hans Hotter masterfully captures the poignancy of this sublime Brahms Lied.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite art song performance from Arrigo
A favorite art song performance from Arrigo
While refined, Lisa della Casa sings “Four Last Songs” deeply alert to the text and with effortless vocalization that sounds fresh and spontaneous.
While refined, Lisa della Casa sings “Four Last Songs” deeply alert to the text and with effortless vocalization that sounds fresh and spontaneous.
Soprano Anna Netrebko and bass-baritone Erwin Schrott have amicably ended their relationship after six years because of their “demanding schedules and the resulting constant time apart.”
What looks to be a very provocative production of Die Frau ohne Schatten (directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski) is the next STAATSOPER.TV presentation from the Bayerische Staatsoper.
It’s that time of year, cher public, when we give thanks for our off-topic and general interest discussions.
Attendees of tomorrow’s parterre meet and greet (pictured) are reminded that Our Own JJ will be available in the Bar Thalia area of Symphony Space beginning at 2:00 for ticket pickup.
Lincoln Center hosted two milestones this week.
La Cieca invites all the cher public to participate in tonight’s chat session at La Casa della Cieca during the Met’s season premiere of Der Rosenkavalier, beginning at 6:55 pm.
“It’s often said that Verdi wrote [Violetta’s] music with three different voices in mind: a light, leggero soprano for the first act, a lyric voice for the second and a dramatic for the third.”
An auction of the meager remains of the bankrupt New York City Opera’s property musical instruments, some bits of scenery and costumes is scheduled for December 12.
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