Wet and wild intermission feature
La Cieca invites the cher public to discuss off-topic and general interest subjects during the week of February 12.
Recent Stories
Master of two servants
Kyle Ketelsen and Bryn Terfel will sing four performances each of the role of Leporello in upcoming Met performances of Don Giovanni.
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).
After the apocalypse
A reminder, cher public, that the Bühnenweihfestspielkrieg will finish tomorrow afternoon at the end of the broadcast/HD performance of Götterdämmerung from the Met.
Enfin, elle est en notre présence
Almost exactly one hundred years ago on March 18, 1912, the Metropolitan Opera gave its final performance to date of Armide.
Thank you for your patience!
After an earlier outage, parterre.com is now restored 100% .
Blind probe
Which opera production set off fireworks at the very first rehearsal when a leading lady was fired on the spot?
Cheers, thanks a lot!
Congratulations to America’s Diva Renée Fleming, starring in the world premiere of Henri Dutilleux‘s opera buffa Absolutely Fabulous.
Countdown to HD
“Katarina Dalayman will sing the role of Brünnhilde in this evening’s performance of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung…
Better late
You’d think the intermission here at parterre are as long as those at the Met’s Ernani…
Son io!
La Cieca hears that Anna Netrebko will sing her first Norma at Covent Garden in 2016.
Agitated, of two minds
Few singers today cause me as much consternation as Vivica Genaux.
Castille soap
“A revival of Verdi’s Ernani at the Met on Thursday proved tastefully understated. In other words, it missed the point entirely.”
A sweet mistake
La Cieca asks: what do Julia Migenes, Carol Neblett, Joyce Castle, Marilyn Zschau and Linda Roarke-Strummer have in common?
Doom generation
The cover art says it all. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, his mouth a grim line, gazes sidelong at the title of his latest album
Rachmaninov Romances.
Bühnenweihfestspielkrieg, part deux
Following up on last year’s popular Bühnenweihfestspielkrieg competition, a challenge to be detailed after the jump.
Continental regie
Some good guesses on our previous Regie quiz, cher public, but nobody hit the bullseye.
One more “Kiss”
The Poisoned Kiss derives its plot from the legend of the girl raised on poison so that her very kiss will kill.
Pout and about
I could feel my face (to say nothing of my spirits) sink as I opened an envelope from La Cieca containing a new Decca CD
to review.
Achromatic scale
In honor of Martin Luther King day (belated), the New York Times hosts a discussion about the current Broadway production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. As a bold gesture toward diversity and inclusion, the keynote speakers range from Anthony Tommasini to Ben Brantley.
The spying eye
La Cieca’s spy (not pictured) reports that mediated negotiations between NYCO and the unions lasted about two days before reaching another impasse.
Two on the isle
Our Own JJ liked everything about The Enchanted Island except The Enchanted Island. [New York Post]
Tales that witness madness
Orlando is the first of three Händel operas based Orlando Furioso, Ariosto’s 15th-century adaptation of the 12-century poem, Chanson de Roland, the other two operas being Alcina and Ariodante. This epic tale of heroism, love, reason and madness also served as the basis for operas by Lully, Vivaldi, Haydn and Scarlatti. In fact, Händel based […]