The life of Dmitri Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is almost as melodramatic as that of its heroine. Composed in the early 1930’s, the opera was well received at its 1934 Leningrad premiere, and was also a success in Moscow a couple of years later. Then one evening Stalin came to see it and […]
Well, Sanford definitely wins the prize for the best mot of the week (in addition to his uncontested status as biggest ‘mo of the year) for his comment about last week’s Regie quiz. The opera pictured above is apparently taking place in a rehearsal hall, so he guessed it must be called Zar und Mary […]
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).
The legendary dramatic soprano was born November 7, 1936.
Edgar has always been the odd man out in the Puccini canon, lying well outside the standard rep. The recent discovery of forty minutes of additional music is likely to do little to change that, but the find was momentous enough to merit a world premier of the newly restored Four Act version of Puccini’s […]
Some sunny diversion (and perhaps a little threaded conversation) on a grey Saturday afternoon: a rebroadcast of the March 9, 1974 performance of I Vespri Siciliani from the Met. The stream begins at 1:00 pm EST here, or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can delve further into Oslo, Norway’s NRK P2 radio. Elena: Montserrat Caballé; […]
Cher public, La Cieca would like to call your attention to the latest innovation by our webmeister Nick Scholl: threaded comments. You can now reply to a specific comment (instead of the entire thread) and thus we can avoid having to start every reply with, “squirrel, you have got to be kidding me!” (Though doubtless […]
Joyce Di Donato‘s latest release is a CD entirely devoted to music Rossini composed for his first wife, Isabella Colbran, one of the most celebrated divas of the early 19th century.
According to the always reliable Zachary Woolfe, among the beans spilled at the NYCO “Koch” Gala last night was the strong suggestion (from no less than Rufus Wainwright himself) that a production of Prima Donna is planned for an upcoming George Steel-planned season. [New York Observer]
“…this stage still has a tendency, it seems, to swallow some of the bloom and resonance of voices…. For both works, the orchestra came through just fine. Less so the voice, though the sound was honest and clear…. the amplification did not make these singers much more audible than those who sang the old-fashioned way…. […]
Among the “auditions” that have come flooding in from the cher public are reviews of three very different productions of Don Giovanni. Your doyenne has taken the liberty of combining the three critiques into a single posting, but she urges you to remember, remember well the names of the authors of this troika of treatises.
It is always a relief when one comes across a wonderful creation, a new existence, a rediscovery. One feels regret for not knowing it before, but alas, the joy overflows. The fear of unknown, the fear of leaving the comfort zone always ends up with enlightenment and embracing the new known. In this case, is […]
“I love the way highlighters can minimize your worst features while enhancing others. Apply just above the eyes for a wide-awake look and use to contour around the cheeks. A makeup artist’s favorite is Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat concealer. Makeup artist Jo Strettel swears by this in Elle magazine because it’s easy to use: […]
La Cieca invites you to enjoy a new blog from occasional member of the cher public (or member of the occasionally cher public) Crewmantle: COMMANDOpera.
The joy on my face after opening the plain manila envelope that contained the ArtHaus Musik DVD of Walter Felsenstein‘s 1975-6 Die Hochzeit des Figaro is hard to describe. I wanted to love this DVD with all my heart, as I have with the three other Nozze DVDs I own. I did, and then some. […]
In the past ten years there has been a renaissance of the countertenor, perhaps from a renewed fascination with period pieces performed in authentic period style. While no one is thinking of lopping off body parts just yet (although with some of these Regie productions, who knows?), many major opera houses now engage David Daniels, […]
Our publisher JJ will grace the airwaves of WNYC this afternoon at 2:00 PM for an appearance on Soundcheck. The topic is that one on everyone’s mind right now, the renascent New York City Opera.
In the year and half that New York City Opera has been absent from the musical milieu of our metropolis, Tony Tommasini has been sadly deprived of one of his favorite topics of conversation.
I have to be honest, when I first got this CD from Cieca cara I thought, “What the fuck did I get myself into?” My assignment was to review the new Naxos recording of Leonard Bernstein‘s Mass. I did this show 10 years ago in school and it was not a happy experience. So, at […]
La Cieca is happy to announce that parterre.com is now accepting advertising via blogads.
The world needs a lot of things: health care, happiness, homo marriages, peace, prosperity and butterflies. What it doesn’t need is a mediocre “budget” recording of a contemporary opera already satisfactorily recorded with the original cast.
… but these boys’ (and girls’) hearts are in the right place as they join with Wenarto to celebrate the apparent victory of Referendum 71 in Washington.
I need to state right off the bat that I have never been one to worship at the altar of Maria Callas. While I can acknowledge her greatness, there are many other singers whom I prefer in the Bel Canto repertoire. So I was skeptical when I began watching Callas Assoluta from ArtHaus Musik.
“Renée herself seemed as if she’d rather be somewhere else.
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