Recent Stories
A source close to the Met whispers to La Cieca that Rolando Villazon “will cancel” the first performance of L’elisir d’amore at the house on March 31. This, La Cieca should mention, is based on an overheard conversation between Sarah Billinghurst and Angela Gheorghiu.
Which soprano’s knee injury is fermenting trouble for her highly-awaited appearances in New York this spring? Let’s hope the company is ready with a rescue team!
In tribute to the last revival ever of the Met’s beloved “rags ‘n rocks” production of Wagner’s Ring, here’s a rare video clip from an early rehearsal of the cycle.
Peter Gelb has just announced that, due to the indisposition of Natalie Dessay, the role of Amina in La sonnambula will be sung tonight by Rolando Villazon. (Thanks to Opera Chic!)
As we wish Joan Crawford a happy 101st (or 105th) birthday, La Cieca asks you to imagine what it might have been (pronounced “bean”) like if Our Lady of the Shoulders had continued her vocal studies with Rosa Ponselle. Not “Joan Crawford Sings Verdi” exactly, but, my goodness, that woman could certainly fill out an…
In case you’re wondering why Roberto Alagna‘s Roméo suddenly sprouted baby-blue capri pants between dress rehearsal and opening night, well, cherchez la femme, as they say. “It was a little bit tricky,” [Alagna] laughs. “They gave me a sort of, I don’t know, very short underwear. It was right for the situation, but Angela didn’t agree.…
According to a release from the Met’s press office, “Margaret Jane Wray will sing the role of Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana tonight, replacing Waltraud Meier, who is ill.”
Opera composer Rufus Wainwright sings Berlioz. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/psUGIE7Ugjw” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
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.
It’s been nearly a month since the last spurt of news about the New York City Opera, which, for those of you with not particularly long memories, is or was an opera company just off to the side of the Met at Lincoln Center. Well, now the first big story of March has crossed La Cieca’s desk.…
La Cieca offers her congratulations to fellow gossipmonger Perez Hilton, who has scooped the world with a story about Rufus Wainwright‘s opera Prima Donna, due for a world premiere production in… oh, wait a minute. Did La Cieca say “scooped the world?” What she meant to say was, “picked up on the story a mere…
Anyone listening to “The Pizza Boy Always Delivers Twice” tonight? La Cieca has just logged on in time for Alfio’s entrance, which means Waltraud Meier has a good deal of singing coming up in the next half hour or so.
Our Own JJ reports on the Met’s 125th Anniversary Shindig in the New York Post.
Renée Fleming, known as “The Beautiful Voice” and “Diva of the Future,” has won a new whaddyacallit, a new, uh, sobriquet. Courtesy of commenter Camille, Ms. Fleming will henceforth be known as “Opera MILF.” (At last night’s 125th Anniversary Gala, La Fleming rocked “a costume based on the one worn by Maria Jeritza for [Die…
La Cieca (not pictured) invites you, cher public, to listen to the broadcast of the Met’s 125th Anniversary Gala (on Sirius or RealNetworks) and comment to your heart’s content! The (projected) program is availabe as a pdf from the Met’s website.
Friends of the box have asked La Cieca to inform you that they have two tickets for today’s 125th Anniversary Gala for sale, row C orchestra, $400 each. If you’re interested, call 646-266-8423 and ask for Siciliano. (That’s his name.)
La Cieca is of course delighted to learn that dear John Waters intends to have Pink Flamingos adapted into an opera — though, sadly, he might as well forget about having the work premiered in his home town. La Cieca can’t imagine which currently active composer might be up for the daunting task of setting…
Talk of the Town
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Ivy Lin
A favorite Verdi performance from Ivy Lin
This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.
This is one of those rare performances that makes you believe that everything Verdi was greater Way Back When.
The Talk of the Town
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
A favorite Verdi performance from Mister Snow
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
Nothing prepared me for the Soviero experience
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.
Our Own JJ makes his farewell to Gay City News, — not “in a box — simple pine” à la Morgana Neri — but with a review of the Met’s current production of Il trovatore. Meanwhile, still in place, and festive as ever, is that pearl among podcasts, The Entertainment Beat with Frances Gumm.
Plácido Domingo answers some of the usual questions and reveals when opera is boring in the current Newsweek.
La Cieca presents the second act of La sonnambula on Unnatural Acts of Opera. La sonnambula, Act 2 After the act, a taste of Renata Scotto‘s Norma.
Which diva predictably arrived late for rehearsal of her spot on the Met’s 125th Anniversary Gala? I’m sure the tardy singer did not laugh to see that another diva had already launched her comeback by sight-reading the aria from the prompter’s score!
According to a press release from the Met, “René Pape has withdrawn from the Met’s 125th Anniversary Gala on Sunday, March 15, due to illness.”  The cancellation starts a daisy chain of cast reshuffling, so listen carefully: John Tomlinson will sing the Death Scene from Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, replacing Pape. James Morris will sing Wotan in…
[This caption by armerjacquino replaces La Cieca’s original, “Waiter, there’s some soup on my fly!”] Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
Gay activists say they were attacked last weekend by members of the orchestra and the security staff of the Greek National Opera during a demonstration over a production of Rusalka. Members of the orchestra had voted not to play the opera in protest against a scene in which two male characters were to kiss. The…
“Mermaid meets boy, mermaid loses voice, mermaid loses boy.” Our Own JJ reports about Rusalka at the Met.
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