… is one of the milder things the critics called Anna Caterina Antonacci‘s first Medea at Toulouse earlier this month. If Antonacci can live up to even half this praise, I’m going to have to get a tattoo of her on my back! “L’ardente Anna Caterina Antonacci a véritablement fait vibrer les foules toulousaines. Chanteuse […]
The media frenzy surrounding the arrest of Alberto Vilar continues unabated. I mean, it’s like he’s the Lindsay Lohan of opera. The NY Times this morning does an in-depth on the apprehended altriust, coaxing quotes out of the notoriously media-shy Beverly Sills (“He was not, how shall I say, quiet, about his giving”) and Donald […]
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).
“It doesn’t matter who sings what. At some point, someone’s fist is up someone else’s rectum.” No, actually that’s not a memoir of operagoing in New York in the 1970s; rather, it’s Shirley Apthorp‘s review of Calixto Bieito‘s production of Verdi’s Macbeth in Frankfurt. And isn’t it nice to see a story about the Metropolitan […]
Met/Kirov/Royal Opera angel Alberto Vilar was arrested last night, charged with stealing $5 million from a client. The Federal complaint states that Vilar used the investor’s money “as a personal piggy bank to pay personal expenses and make charitable contributions, without the knowledge, consent, or authorization of the victim.” According to the story on Bloomberg.com, […]
A presence from beyond the grave walked out on a recital by Dame Kiri te Kanawa on Wednesday night in Edinburgh. Following one of her songs the Kiwi diva turned to the audience and asked, “Did you hear the footsteps during the last piece? They were behind me. I wanted to look round. You have […]
Which artists’ management company (hint: it’s one of the Big Three) is in such dire financial trouble that its president is regularly forced to dip into his own (considerable) private fortune to preserve the semblance of a positive cash flow? Which big-name stage director recently showed up for rehearsals of a complicated opera completely unfamiliar […]
All right, boys, get your bold-faced fonts out. It seems that at Oprah Winfrey‘s “Legends Ball,” none other than Leontyne Price asked specially to meet fellow guest/legend Mariah Carey. La Carey (who admits that at first she thought the diva mistook her for someone else) reports that Lee chatted with her about her music and […]
“Something happens on the opera stage when Aprile Millo and Marcello Giordani are on it together. It may not be perfect. It may even be a little awkward at times. But it’s real singing – at best, wonderful singing. And people want it.” That’s Anne Midgette in today’s New York Times, and she’s obviously as […]
Just a reminder that some of the humor from the print version of parterre box is archived online: New Roles for CeciliaThe ImpresariosThe Ballad of Billy BuddAll About SteveA Bitchy ClassJust Jessye!Ain’t it a pretty voice?Valley of the DivasThe Texaco Opera QueensBartoli Meets SwensonBeefcake in OperaTen Rules for Stage DirectorsMissed OpportunitiesTen Great Awakening Scenes
Finally Renaaay has admitted what so many of us have insisted for so long: she croons, and, what’s more, her Manon might sound better with electronic amplification. Oh, guess what, she yaks interminably about her jazz obsession, too, in this story.
This afternoon at 1:30 EDT, a live performance of Un ballo in maschera on BBC radio from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, featuring Karita Mattila in her first production as Amelia, with Marcelo Alvarez, Thomas Hampson, Elisabetta Fiorillo and Camilla Tilling under the baton of Antonio Pappano. (This information comes from the superb resource […]
You could say last night at the Met was a typical Aprile Millo performance, if that expression were not essentially an oxymoron. “Typical” and “Millo” really don’t intersect in this dimension (maybe somewhere on a spiritual plane? But I digress.) Let’s just say that, what happens at a Millo night, happened last night, which is […]
Which intendant-to-be is gaining a nasty reputation for nepotism, as in forcing his wife’s baton down the throat of opera companies afraid to incur his wrath? This kind of behavior ought to send up a red flag… or at least a yellow one.
The Met’s so-called “Millo Pole” will no doubt tonight be swarming with cognoscenti, or as we like to call them around here, opera queens. Aprile Millo sings her only staged Tosca of the Met’s season, and that’s reason enough to shlep over to Lincoln Center. (Millo had a big personal success in Ballo last month, […]
Il Gran Teatro della Cieca proudly presents Above the Title: Operatic Superstar as Protagonist. This program features five complete live performances: La Fille du Regiment (Beverly Sills), Salome (Gwyneth Jones), Don Carlo (Franco Corelli), Die Walkuere (Kirsten Flagstad) and Madama Butterfly (Montserrat Caballe). Listen to the program Read more details
Coming up this weekend on “Il Gran Teatro della Cieca,” an all-new, all-recorded-live program of opera. You’ll hear complete performances of La Fille du regiment, Salome, Don Carlo, Die Walkuere and Madama Butterfly, with the title roles taken by Beverly Sills, Gwyneth Jones, Franco Corelli, Kirsten Flagstad and Montserrat Caballe (respectively!) In the meantime, do […]
La Cieca hopes you enjoy her radio show (currently featuring an all-Virginia Zeani program) and would like to know: what do you want to hear on “Il Gran Teatro della Cieca?” Complete operas? Highlights? A concert by “Il Divo?” Email your suggestions to [email protected].
La Cieca hopes you enjoy her radio show (currently featuring an all-Virginia Zeani program) and would like to know: what do you want to hear on “Il Gran Teatro della Cieca?” Complete operas? Highlights? A concert by “Il Divo?” Email your suggestions to [email protected].
Well, La Cieca thinks that Jane Eaglen must be a hell of a wonderful colleague, or is it that she has a mortgage payment due on her Seattle condo? Whatever the reason, the Brit Brunnhilde is (you should pardon the expression) jumping in for an ailing Susan Marie Pierson in tonight’s performance of Fidelio at […]
La Cieca hears (from sometimes reliable internet snitch Tony Soprano) that Matthew Epstein will make a triumpant return to the 15% biz in general and Columbia Artists Management in particular. Expect an announcement (from someone besides Tony, that is) sometime next week. Glad to see that someone knows his correct Fach! In completely unrelated news, […]
La Cieca abandons HTML today and shifts to a blog-driven site. She’s hoping that the easier interface will mean more frequent and timely updates, but I guess you’ll be the judge of that! A rave review for last night’s Ballo at the Met from the hard-to-please Charlie Handelman, in particular Miss Millo and Mr. Giordani […]
This one is just a whisper at the moment, but La Cieca has heard that Mirella Freni is not going to show up for the Met Pension Fund gala in May? Like I said, it’s just a whisper, but… Those of you listening to today’s intermission feature during the Met’s Walkuere broadcast just heard Sally […]
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.
