Recent Stories
This cozy video of Il Barbiere di Siviglia was recently re-released and will be of interest to those who are only familiar with Cecilia Bartoli‘s work after she became an international star.
La Cieca would like to take this opportunity to salute our sponsors for the month of April: Carnegie Hall and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
La Cieca invites you, the cher public (pictured) to discuss off-topic and general interest subjects.
“I’ve lived with mendacity!—Why can’t you live with it? Hell, you got to live with it, there’s nothing else to live with except mendacity, is there?”
The best joke in Offenbach’s delicious Orphée aux Enfers is the opening premise: Orphée and Eurydice are miserably married, due to her utter boredom with his old-fashioned music.
Last night, La Cieca finally got around to watching that documentary about the rocky road to the new Ring at the Met, and she has a thought or two about this whole brouhaha.
Our Own JJ (not pictured) just came running into the parterre offices wild-eyed with excitement.
Tenor Bryan Hymel has been named the recipient of the eighth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera.
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.
The fabled verista celebrates the 103rd anniversary of her birth today.
“The spring season at the Met is as changeable as March weather in New York: crisp and brilliant for a day or two, and then suddenly as dismal as Thursday night’s Faust.”
Time to walk around a bit and discuss this week’s off-topic and general interest subjects, cher public.
Our Own JJ (not pictured) discussed “star quality” on WQXR’s Operavore program tomorrow afternoon at 12:30.
The glamorous and beloved mezzo-soprano died yesterday. She was 99.
“…the stage is crowded with grumbling members of the old guard who aren’t renewing subscriptions, disenchanted reviewers, vendors of vitriol on blogs like Parterre Box…”
All these years La Cieca has complained that nobody would write an operatic version of Valley of the Dolls, and what do you know?
The Brooklyn Academy of Music kicks off its 2013 Next Wave Festival launches with BAM/New York City Opera co-production of Anna Nicole.
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from CKurwenal
A favorite Verdi performance from CKurwenal
Like probably all of us, there are so many different things I could have submitted for a favorite Verdi performance.
Like probably all of us, there are so many different things I could have submitted for a favorite Verdi performance.
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.
Short as Roman emperor Eliogabalo’s reign was, the world sighed in relief when it was over.
On first hearing, Paul Dukas’ 1907 opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue (Ariane and Bluebeard) sounds like the love child of a three-way between Wagner, Strauss, and Debussy.
There has never been a successful vampire musical—so they say. But that’s just not true.
Thursday’s Met performance of the Verdi tearjerker featured a major find: Diana Damrau, who, in her first outing as Violetta, mesmerized with her gleaming soprano and ferocious acting.
Christoph Willibald Gluck wrote some fifty operatic works, not counting revisions and translations, and in every form extant in the two cities, Paris and Vienna, in which he made his career.
Gotham Chamber Opera stumbled so badly Friday night with Francesco Cavalli’s 1668 Eliogabalo at The Box, it was hard to know whether to feel sad or angry—or both.
It has always puzzled me—and I’m not the only one—that so few successful operas have been composed in Spanish.
A Dutch-speaking parterrian has graciously translated the interview with Piotr Beczala that’s been causing such a foofaraw lately.
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