Recent Stories
As we approach the end of the first all-Peter Gelb season at the Met, there’s already a certain amount of editorial judgment on the General Manager’s “aesthetic agenda.” That’s only fair, of course: judgement is what critics do.
La Cieca has just heard that James Morris and Hei-Kyung Hong have withdrawn from Cincinnati Opera’s upcoming production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, due to “recuperation from surgery” and “family issues,” respectively.
Enthusiastic Met intermission commentator Blythe Danner and her Oscar-winning daughter/blogger Gwyneth Paltrow are on the short list…
“La Ritalina” is 45 today!
Which Brit of medium height has been added to the short list for a prestigious post that (paradoxically) would represent a homecoming?
On Friday, April 16th, American Opera Projects and Opera on Tap presented a triple bill of new works at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, including what is essentially a pastiche, a collection of songs, and a one act opera. There were highs, there were lows; there was booze and opera in the same room. I…
Our operatic riddle of the day: what is due to be seen in New York in September, assuming the enormous weight doesn’t rupture another disc?
The American conductor (about whom Wikipedia mildly says “There is some mystery surrounding his early life”) was born in London on April 18, 1882… or perhaps 1887. Or was it Pomerania in 1889?
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
Don’t cry because it’s over
Don’t cry because it’s over
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag hearkens back to the days when Sondra Radvanovsky — who is singing no Verdi at all next season — seemed like the Verdi soprano of reference.
Grand Tier Grab Bag
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Rizzin’ to the occasion
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
Parterre Box features the Met’s current Eugene Onegin, Iurii Samoilov, in a performance of Rossini ahead of a return to Pesaro this summer.
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.
Even with two weeks to guess, cher public, you were stumped by our most recent Regie quiz. (Hurrah for La Cieca!) However, you did manage to have some interesting conversations along the way, so it wasn’t a total wash.
The American soprano was born April 18, 1948.
The setting is Salzburg, September of 2009. Anna Netrebko and Daniel Barenboim partnered for a recital with lofty aspirations and difficult works mere months after her unfortunate Lucia at the Met. Thanks to the foresight to record this evening, we now have a record of a great night – hopefully a turning point – in…
The Traviata chat will begin at 12:45 beginning in preparation for the 1:00 start time of tonight’s performance.
What could be more exclusive than this? La Cieca offers you a sneak preview of Renée Fleming‘s MTV-style video for “Endlessly!”
Fans of Natalie Dessay (and there are legions of you!) will be overjoyed to hear that, now that the Met’s Hamlet is no longer on the boards, she has completely recovered from whatever it was that was ailing her. The Gallic nightingale is currently gracing the stage of the Wiener Staatsoper in Bellini’s La sonnamubula.…
“Lights are brighter; the elegantly gowned Tosca no longer plops down on a filthy church floor — and police chief Scarpia’s Act 2 hooker four-way stops short of oral action.” [NYP]
“Now, let me think… where did I leave that vocal score?”
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A favorite Verdi performance from Tildy Diva
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
A well-known Met Aïda with a starry cast from 1967 is TildyDiva’s Favorite Verdi Performance
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Arrigo
A favorite Verdi performance from Arrigo
My favorite Verdi performance is Claudio Abbado Don Carlo opening of the Scala.
My favorite Verdi performance is Claudio Abbado Don Carlo opening of the Scala.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Peter Russell
A favorite Verdi performance from Peter Russell
The purely musical performance preserved here is thrilling, ratcheted to a higher intensity than the Deutsche Grammophon studio recording
The purely musical performance preserved here is thrilling, ratcheted to a higher intensity than the Deutsche Grammophon studio recording
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from TC
A favorite Verdi performance from TC
Victoria de los Ángeles has always been my Violetta of choice, a portrayal that never ceases to move me.
Victoria de los Ángeles has always been my Violetta of choice, a portrayal that never ceases to move me.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Anna Netrebko
A favorite Verdi performance from Anna Netrebko
I feel that the best years of Maria Callas’s vocalità, when we hear such a unique freedom and generosity in her singing, were captured in her early recordings.
I feel that the best years of Maria Callas’s vocalità, when we hear such a unique freedom and generosity in her singing, were captured in her early recordings.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Armerjacquino
A favorite Verdi performance from Armerjacquino
Before the screams of horror begin, it says ‘favorite’, not best.
Before the screams of horror begin, it says ‘favorite’, not best.
It’s safe to say that there has been a lot of talk about Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna, which received its London premiere this week.
Luc Bondy’s Tosca returned to the Met on Wednesday night with an entirely new set of principals and conductor. The new trio of principal singers, all making local role debuts, could not redirect and redesign the production but they could allow their individual talents to outshine their surroundings.
With all due respect to our charming new commenter Nina Munk, the difference between the Met and the Bavarian State Opera is not something that can be measured in dollars or euros. It’s more about aesthetic sensibility.
La Cieca hears from a reliable source that James Valenti is the 2010 Richard Tucker Award winner.
“Her new cerise dress has been a failure, and makes her look tawdry and wan… She frowns a little — not in anger, but as a brave child frowns when he is trying not to cry. In all that expanse no human eye is looking at her, and she may frown unrebuked…”
The cancellation of Anna Netrebko of her Vienna performances of I puritani — on five days’ notice — inspires La Cieca to introduce an all-new tag relevant to this sort of event.
“The Met’s first production of Rossini’s supernatural opera Armida was supposed to be a showcase for star soprano Renée Fleming…. But by the time the opera ended Monday — four hours after it began — only a few of the less-than-capacity audience were left to applaud. The magic wasn’t there.” [NYP]
La Cieca just heard that Angela Gheorghiu has canceled tonight’s performance of Traviata at the Met. Hei-Kyung Hong goes on.
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