Malgré Gardens
Well, that was one race that was won at a walk.
Recent Stories
A soprano, a tenor and a rabbi walk into a psychiatrist’s office…
Renée Fleming, “who’s been known to kid her diva image, along with her art form”…
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).
Rodent show
This Hans Neuenfels staging for the Bayreuth Festival caused quite a stir at its 2010 premiere, but now, with time and distance, how radical is the production?
49 shades of grey
A singer who was monochromatic long before she started appearing in “Obsession by Calvin Klein” circa 1986-styled music videos, Elina Garanca …
It’s the pictures that got small
“Norma, from Teatro Antico, Taormina, Italy.”
Fully equipped with fire and music
“The Greek drama affords us one character which, had Shakespeare studied it in the three great tragedians of that people, and then, preserving Greek manners as ably as he did Roman, written it from his own heart and mind, might have been worthy to succeed the greatest achievement of the stage.”
The bald mezzo-soprano
She’s been a showgirl, a bubble dancer, a drag king, and of course a maimed statue.
The picture hat of Dorian Gray
La Cieca invites the cher public to gather “just like girlfriends—with hats on…” for this week’s round of discussion re: off-topic and general interest subjects.
Roma holiday
Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve makes its video debut with this release from C-Major which means there’s still plenty of opportunities for improvement.
Beach, beach, beach
Here’s the thing about puns, Betsy: summer going to enjoy them and summer not.
It’s good to be the king
La Cieca is sure that many, if not all, of the cher public are literally salivating at the prospect of seeing an actual performance of Chabrier’s Le Roi Malgré Lui as it will be presented in its US stage premiere at Bard SummerScape beginning July 27.
Nun der Quiz mich müd gemacht
After a brilliantly collaborative start, the cher public fell just short of deciphering the complete Beim Schlafengehen quiz, though several of you did very well indeed.
JJ au naturel
Our Own JJ has been spending a lot of time outdoors lately, which is such a novelty for him that he felt he really must write about it.
Breaking dawn
When Giuseppe Filianoti isn’t busy being one of the world’s more versatile tenors, he plays detective.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Regie is Eurotrash.
Venerable Opera magazine had better watch its ass, since the publication’s “We Hear That” column will probably be getting a “visit” from the Met’s thugs goons legal counsel any minute now.
The Regie Files
With almost frightening speed, floridante2k nailed our most recent Regie quiz.
Summer knights
Richard Wagner believed the key to any legend was contrasting the supernatural with human nature, and showing how the combination had no chance of enduring. In Lohengrin, the title’s character’s insistence on unconditional love and trust collide with the conditional expectations of the real world. The challenge is capturing the tale’s somber majesty without losing […]
Conquering Ciro
By the time Rossini was 20, he had produced six operas, most of them brief, comic and slight. He admitted to admiring Mozart (not then well known south of the Alps), but the melodies of his early works show more of the influence of Paisiello.
Steppin’ 2 the Nile Side
La Cieca would like to take this opportunity to extend kudos to Francesca Zambello and the Glimmerglass Festival on what looks to be their season’s first smash hit: a new production of the classic musical Dreamgirls.
On with the motley
La Cieca (right) welcomes the cher public (and you know who you are) to an all-out, no-holds-barred edition of our weekly general interest and off-topic discussion.
Pre-code chat
Betsy Ann Bobolink presents a Betsy Ann Bobolink production of un film de Bétsy Ann Bobolinque.
Revolutionary Rhodes
The cover picture on the Opera Australia’s DVD
of a 2011 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni is rather startling.
How monarchic was my sprezzatura!
“Yet the evening’s first words, heard in the set-piece Ombra ma fui—like all of Xerxes’ arias sung with monarchic sprezzatura and amoral relish by Stella Doufexis…”