“Much better, thanks for asking”

Wien, 18. Oktober 2009

Sugar rush

According to a press release from the Met, Fabio Luisi (left) will conduct all performances of Hansel and Gretel this season replacing Andrew Davis (not pictured) who has withdrawn for personal reasons.

Sex, Lies & Octavian

“She was pretty but blank onstage back then, but Tuesday night’s opening performance found her too far the other direction, transforming the ironic, moody aristocrat into a Lifetime movie drama queen.” [NYP]

First time I’ve heard it called that

“Tenor Domingo collects opera gong” [BBC News]

American Beauty Rosenkavalier

[La Cieca is delighted to introduce a new reviewer, @scazzasofija.] I found Rosenkavalier (Met, Oct. 13) to be mostly sublime. My quibbles come from a preference for Kleiber’s tempos. I found that de Waart was waving his arms as fast as he could for the beginning, but I think the prelude and up until the…

Leap of faith

Maria Gavrilova jumps in as Tosca tonight at the Met, replacing the ailing Karita Mattila.

A bird in the hand

Whenever La Cieca (center) feels afraid, she doesn’t just hold her head erect or whistle a happy tune (though she’s been known to do both on occasion), she reminds herself, “You know, things could be a lot worse than what they are!”  

The Rosenkavalier chat

Tonight’s chat during tonight’s season premiere of Der Rosenkavalier from the Met begins at 7:15 pm. 

“Ja, ja!”

In the comments section of this post, you are invited to offer your opinion on why Renée Fleming‘s broadcast performance (as heard tonight, October 13) strikes you as a great portrayal of the Marschallin. 

“Nein, nein!”

In the comments section of this post, you are invited to offer your opinion on why Renée Fleming‘s broadcast performance (as heard tonight, October 13) strikes you as not a great portrayal of the Marschallin.

Dawn of the Philistines Dawn of the Philistines

I’m not sure who I find more annoying – the partisans who vigorously defend Luc Bondy‘s production of Tosca at the Met or those who decry it.  As Bondy’s production replaces one of the Met’s signature offerings, both groups have seized on this event as a watershed event in the history of opera in America…

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

“Unfaithful lovers, sequined jumpsuits and giant silver dildos …. neon wigs and abundant confetti…. Filled with sexual innuendo, laughable levels of innocence and more than a few macho groin thrusts…”  [Star Observer]

The clown with his pants falling down

Oh, La Cieca just hates herself when she get a detail wrong. It seems that languid wunderkind Rufus Wainwright will not be performing his hit aria “Les feux d’artifice” at the gala opening of the New York City Opera saluting noted teabagger David H. Koch. The air will be performed by an actual operatic soprano,…

Not only a rose I give you

Good news for La Cieca’s competitive public! Tomorrow night during the Der Rosenkavalier chat (beginning at 7:15 pm), you all are invited to compete for recently released recordings of the beloved R. Strauss classic.  After the jump, you’ll learn how it works. 

Happy Birthday Luciano Pavarotti

The legendary singer was born October 12, 1935. 

Blind drunk

Which blotto basso had a hell of a time in the first part of that French opera, stumbling, forgetting words, and even losing his voice temporarily?  Fortunately, after an intermission featuring hot coffee, a cold shower and a stern tongue-lashing from management, he was reborn as the superb singing actor we all know and love…

Zero-G Regie

La Cieca congratulates matto per la lirica for identifying our most recent Regie quiz: Offenbach’s L’Ile de Tulipatan — as performed at the Wiener Kammeroper, with Waut Koeken directing. And now for something completely different.

IV on HD

Four of the cher public caught yesterday’s HD presentation of Tosca and have agreed to share their impressions with La Cieca and the rest: “The death of Puccini’s Tosca was much exaggerated, in fact it did not take place.” “After about 34 years of going to the opera, I don’t think I’ve ever left a…

Knockout!

Oh, hell to the yes, it’s a divorce. 

Crossing swords

This is the best production of Siegfried ever!

What’s in store

Your doyenne modestly would like to introduce the lastest of her far-flung business empire, a mini-store at amazon.com called La Cieca’s Little Shop of Arias. She suggests you bookmark this site as a convenient one-stop location for all the latest opera CDs, DVDs and other regalia. As with the various other amazon advertising here on…

Bearer of the Rose

The New York Times rolls out the red carpet for the Met’s revival of Der Rosenkavalier in a majorly major way today: chitchat with Renée Fleming, what Boris Goldovsky used to call “a musical and dramatic analysis,” plus, in what surely must be a first in media access, exclusive streaming content culled from yesterday’s dress…

Gli enigmi sono tre

Actually, only a single riddle, cher public, but perhaps a baffling one.

Middle age blues

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