Recent Stories
La Cieca invites you take a moment from your off-topic and general interest discussion to take note of our latest advertiser.
“I literally wanted to punch Sher in the face.”
“Yeah, I was in London and I got a text message from Renee Fleming.”
Our Betsy (pictured) orates: “Mah fella Merkins! Rally round the Pashmina Shawl and let your voice be heard.”
So what’s the news from the Met press office this late Friday afternoon?
The Bayreuth Festival is trying something new and outreachy this season.
Which tenor, who shall remain nameless, is about to be replaced in a series of Met performances by a young colleague?
Matthew Polenzani will sing the role of Leicester in all performances of the Met’s new production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda this season.
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.
No, not a Regie quiz—though that feature will return soon enough now that the season is up and running—but rather an image from the new Dmitri Tcherniakov production of Jenufa for the Opernhaus Zürich.
No, that’s not how it’s supposed to work, Heidi Waleson.
Which VIP at the Met’s opening night barely lasted through Belcore’s entrance aria before hustling out the door and leaving a gaping lacuna in the guest seating chart?
After last night’s opening of L’elisir d’amore, the chirping of the first critics is heard.
It’s taken more than a month for La Cieca to return to the Regie to the Rescue competition thanks in part to the generous wordage of the cher public.
The cher public (not pictured, one hopes) are invited to discuss off-topic and general interest topics right up to the moment the lights are dimmed.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
“In the space of a few words, the leading role in a major new production had been reassigned. But why?”
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Darby Fegan
A favorite Verdi performance from Darby Fegan
Anna Tomowa-Sintow, “Ernani Involami,” from the MET Centenial Gala, 1983.
Anna Tomowa-Sintow, “Ernani Involami,” from the MET Centenial Gala, 1983.
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.
As the season gears up, so does the chat at La Casa della Cieca.
UPDATE: A video preview of the new Elisir follows the jump.
But the part she seems most excited about is Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s treatment of Shakespeare’s Scottish play.
“Upon my word,” exclaims La Cieca (pictured at right, in the background), “I could almost swear I see a few empty seats on the other side of theater for the Met’s opening night performance of L’elisir d’amore!”
Frankly, the response to the Elektra quiz was uneven. La Cieca will explain after the jump.
“Is a work an opera simply because its creators choose to call it one?”
For all its rich evocations of 18th century Vienna and skillful balancing of slapstick and the sublime, Der Rosenkavalier’s popularity has always been rooted in its vivid principal characters.
“Considering one of the season’s star singers is a plus-size female impersonator, opera this fall is anything but a drag.”
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