The little gray cells of operalover9001 were functioning at full capacity last week, raciocinating that the fuller-figured soloists must imply a heavier sing. And, yes, the mystery opera was a very hard sing indeed, Les Troyens at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, directed by David Hermann. This week’s quiz promises to be as difficult to guess […]
Get your effete knives out for general interest and off-topic conversations for the week of October 30.
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).
And standing in the door of La Casa della Cieca (pictured) was little Betsy Ann Bobolink, who, instead of lisping “Trick or treat!”, drawled affectedly, “In the spirit of mutual respect and commonality that so pervades our modern society, and has even at times crept onto these pages, here’s what’s available for listening (and chatting)…”
This may seem a bit of a stretch, cher public, but stay with me. La Cieca introduces a new feature on parterre, named after not Lois Lane (pictured) but rather Lois Kirschenbaum, legendary Gotham opera fan. This Lois is widely regarded as a bellwether of noteworthy performances; or, to put it another way, if Lois […]
Yes, I think perhaps lookism has finally gone too far.
“It’s the understudy’s job to save the show, and that’s just what Jay Hunter Morris did Thursday at the Met in the daunting title role of Wagner’s Siegfried.” [New York Post]
Says the Met press office this bright, sunny Friday morning: “Jay Hunter Morris will sing the role of Siegfried in the new production premiere of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung on January 27, and in the performances on February 7 and 11. He replaces Gary Lehman, who has withdrawn due to the continued effects of a viral infection.” […]
So, tell me this, what do Anthony Tommasini, Zachary Woolfe and James Jorden (not pictured) have in common? Well, according to John M. Olin Fellow at the Manhattan Institute Heather MacDonald, these three “trendy” critics constitute “a press corps determined to push Met general manager Peter Gelb into conformity with European opera houses, where narcissistic […]
Those lucky few of you who manage to scare up tickets to the Met’s second Ring cycle of the spring ($3,500 top) will no doubt want to start crossing your fingers now that nothing goes wrong with “The Machine” at the “prologue-evening” Das Rheingold April 26.
“Pathos and the high tone is not his thing,” helpfully explains Google Translate in reference to “Provokateur” Frank Castorf, who has been selected to direct the Ring at Bayreuth in 2013, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth. [Berliner Morgenpost]
Reviewing some old files while restoring the parterre mainframe’s hard drive, La Cieca ran across some predictions made in 2006 of what the current Met season would consist of. The details after the jump.
When Mojca Erdmann’s new debut CD for Deutsche Grammophon was reviewed in the September issue of Opera News, the disc’s cover art showed the lissome German soprano in a thin, revealing white dress, lying on a bed of roses. The album was then called Mostly Mozart. When that review questioned the titling, DG must have […]
“The New York City Opera is at an exciting and critical junction in its approach to opera and its ability to connect to audiences in the broader New York City community. City Opera’s new innovative programing presents an opportunity to re-imagine and re-conceive current fundraising efforts for a budget of $13.7 M.” Yes, NYCO is […]
In the liner notes to his new Wagner CD, Rene Pape opines that performing the master’s work isn’t terribly different than performing Mozart. Both composers require singers to sustain a melodic line, manipulate vowels at the right moments and deploy dynamic gradations for dramatic effect. Call it German bel canto or natural speech, just don’t […]
With his new CD release for Decca, The Maltese Tenor, Joseph Calleja clearly declares his ascension to the top level of the world’s lyric tenors. The 15-selection program shows that his plaintive voice has matured and clarified, his emotional understanding of the music has deepened significantly, and his artistry has moved to a higher level. […]
Not only has physical therapy healed Mariusz Kwiecien‘s shapely back, it’s apparently added a third to the top of his range. [New York Times]
Nothing pleases La Cieca better than stumping the panel. As such, she will turn all the cards over and reveal that our most recent Regie quiz depicts Chabrier’s L’étoile, as presented by Oper Frankfurt, directed by Our (Occasionally) Own David Alden. A snippet of Alden’s show follows the jump; then you can mull over yet […]
La Cieca (missing from photo) invites you, the cher public, to discuss events otherwise not specified during the week of October 23.
Ever wonder why a free press is the cornerstone of any representative democracy? Wonder no more: “MUSCAT: Renée Fleming is called the People’s Diva for a reason. She doesn’t have any airs, and her engaging charm works its way into the hearts of anyone who sees her sing.” And it only gets more fulsome. [Times […]
It is with great disappointment that Betsy Ann Bobolink (second from right) must cancel this week’s listing of Saturday opera performances, however, after listening to seven performances of the extremely taxing title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at The Metropolitan Opera, she has been ordered to go on 10 days of vocal rest by her […]
Which maestro, a former music director of an American opera company, is now in the running for that title at the Met—assuming the company indeed has done a radical about-face in its plans?
As is so bloody typical when La Cieca leaves town for even a few days, news breaks all over the damn place. As you have no doubt already heard by now, Jay Hunter Morris will sing all this fall’s Met performances of Siegfried, replacing Gary Lehman who has canceled (all together now) “because of illness.” Lehman, […]
“An eagerly awaited production of Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni —staged by Tony winner Michael Grandage (Red)—limped into the Met Thursday dead on arrival.” [New York Post]
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