Ce bruit de l’or
Legendary diva Montserrat Caballé has been charged by Spanish procescutors with tax evasion for failing to declare some 500,000 euros of income for concerts given in Andorra.
Recent Stories
Blinded item
His 75-minute setting of Oedipus in Kolonos, heard in a live 2009 performance on MDR Klassik, illustrates how Mendelssohn tried to link ancient forms with Romantic-era sensibilities by fashioning harmonically adventurous chorales and believable characters instead of abstract musical representations of mythical figures.
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).
Porgy on the bay
A new DVD of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess features an enjoyable live performance from the San Francisco Opera from June of 2009.
Miss Mary Garden climbs Mont Blanc
“For two days after,” she wrote, “I felt absolutely exhausted, and my eyes hurt me from the glare of the snow. But now I feel splendid, and my lungs feel twice as strong and in fine shape for Salome.”
“Donors, Mama. They’re called donors, and every opera company has them.”
Peter Gelb talks about the “social rejection” of the Met.
Song of the lark
Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin presents Natalie Dessay in recital.
Red queen
Joyce DiDonato is taking her Mary Stuart on the road, so to speak.
Stairway to heaven
Once again, beloveds, we approach the Milanese shrine that simultaneously attempted to cultivate and destroy the career of Maria Meneghini Callas.
Faces of mirth
La Cieca’s old, old, old friend Dorothy Bishop, recently interviewed in Opera News, brings her “Dozen Divas” show to NYC’s Metropolitan Room April 30 and May 5.
Just like girlfriends, with hats on
Let’s all let down our hair, cher public, those of us for whom this feat is possible, and discuss general interest and off-topic subjects.
Change partners
Your doyenne is sure all the familiar faces and screen names will be present at 1:00 this afternoon in La Casa della Cieca, as the Met broadcasts Così fan tutte.
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby!
George Benjamin’s 2012 opera Written on Skin received great acclaim at its opening at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Royal Opera quickly mounted it in March 2013.
Count me in
The legions of New York opera buffs who now can’t talk about anything but Javier Camarena will be happy to know that there’s now a DVD release
of their new favorite tenor in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory available.
“Senza rancor”
The winds of change sweep across the first post-9/11 issue of parterre box, the queer opera zine.
Ash Wednesday
Joyce, Javier and now Julia—this week these three remarkable Js brought New York City memorable “Cinderella stories.”
Sleep no more
The respective long slumbers of Brünnhilde and La Cieca are finally at an end as we continue “EL Anillo” from the Mike Richter collection with the third act of Siegfried.
The man on the wedding cake
Though at the moment we have no indication that there will be a cast change for the final three performances of La Cenerentola at tha Met, La Cieca does think the group mind should apply itself to the pressing question of exactly wbich tenor will appear in the HD telecast on May 10.
Call me Madame
“To play La Pompadour—what a delightful task! To be La Pompadour—what a gruesome fate!”
Goodness had everything to do with it
The Met stage was filled with considerable magic Monday night when its dizzily effervescent revival of La Cenerentola starring Joyce DiDonato and Javier Camarena stirred a bewitched audience to some of the most ecstatic ovations heard this season.
Mary Garden to go Salome three better
“They now say if they can prevent it, Mary will not dance in Minneapolis, even in seven veils, to make no mention of four.”
Regna tristezza sul destino mio
Our dear and invaluable Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin offers us a new classic this week, a live recording of Anna Netrebko‘s collaboration with Riccardo Muti on Manon Lescaut.
Man of the future
Javier Camerena, “as close to a rock star as the Met has produced from its male roster this season,” has big plans with the company, with at least four roles planned for future seasons.
Latecomer
La Cieca apologized for a tardy arrival at today’s Intermission Feature, but hopes that the cher public will nevertheless enjoy discussion of off-topic and general interest subjects.