La Regie du jeu
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.
Recent Stories
Happy Birthday Catherine Malfitano
The American soprano was born April 18, 1948.
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).
She’s still here
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 […]
Teneste la chat
The Traviata chat will begin at 12:45 beginning in preparation for the 1:00 start time of tonight’s performance.
Snark hope
What could be more exclusive than this? La Cieca offers you a sneak preview of Renée Fleming‘s MTV-style video for “Endlessly!”
Because of wellness
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. […]
Tosca, mi fai dimenticare la regia!
“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]
A Great Lady Has a Twitter
“Now, let me think… where did I leave that vocal score?”
The return of the comeback
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.
Three for the show
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.
No country for old opera queens
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.
Top of the world
La Cieca hears from a reliable source that James Valenti is the 2010 Richard Tucker Award winner.
The day after
“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…”
Introducing a new tag
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.
Witchy woman
“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]
The lady of the camellias vanishes
La Cieca just heard that Angela Gheorghiu has canceled tonight’s performance of Traviata at the Met. Hei-Kyung Hong goes on.
German, te togli al campy…
1817 was a fertile and diverse time for 26 year old Gioachino Rossini. It opened with his last true opera buffa, La Cenerentola, continued with his most important semiseria, La gazza ladra, and ended with two operas, which, although both nominally belonging to the seria genre, could not be more different from each other.
D’amore al dolce chat
La Cieca will not be near a keyboard (or for that matter a theoboro) this evening, but please don’t let that stop you, cher public, from chatting during the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Rossini’s Armida, starring Renée Fleming (not pictured).
Tweeter than roses
Armida in just three hours, and, ironically (given the dramatic weight of this bel canto role) a certain soprano just can’t stop twittering!
Why oh why oh why oh?
It’s official: James Levine has withdrawn from Cincinnati Opera‘s 90th Anniversary Gala Concert (June 19) and the season-opening production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (June 23 & 26). John Keenan takes up the Wagner duties and a roster of guest conductors fill in at the gala.
Tales of the Bizarro Met
Far over on the Upper West Side of Manhattan exists an amazing marvel of the cosmos… the Metropolitan Opera. It is where the opera Tosca is being “prepared” for performance only few days from now.