Ma queer immortelle
San Francisco Opera hosts an exuberant tribute to queerness past and present.
Luigi Illica
20 pieces since 2009.
20
pieces
18
years
Anime sante degli avi
Madama Butterfly confronts anime, virtual reality, and weeaboos in Matthew Ozawa‘s bold production at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The best thing I saw this year was Pittori fiamminghi
Part of the annual Festival Illica honoring the city’s native son Luigi Illica, the performance offered a precious opportunity to hear a rare score by an even rarer composer in a gorgeous medieval piazza.
Paris is always a good idea
Though perhaps showing its age, a storied production of La bohème nonetheless makes a welcome return to the Los Angeles Opera
Nothing makes me feel better than Tosca
Suck it, Joseph Kerman: Puccini’s “Shabby Little Shocker” has outlived you and will probably bury us all.
By Peter Russell
Comment
Visible storage
Performances of Pittori fiamminghi and Madama Butterfly in picturesque Castell’Arquato were a fine way to honor Luigi Illica, the city’s native son
Povera Butterfly
A parade of young singers delight in an intimate Madama Butterfly at Amore Opera
Thoughts on Andrea Chénier: the opera
Doing my research for these “thoughts” ahead of a starry revival in London that opened yesterday, I came across the following review for the Opening Night of the 1962-63 Season.
No strings attached
Madama Butterfly is the opera of the moment.
It has to be more than that
Before rehearsals for Madama Butterfly started, Phil Chan sat down with the box to chat about his production, opera’s cultural appropriation problem, and why the last thing he’s trying to do is cancel Puccini.
Looking for Trouble
The ailing and grief-stricken Pinkerton was shown to give his son a diary about his time in Nagasaki, and as Trouble read it, he (and the audience) was taken back in time as the story came to life, similar to the use of Pensieve in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4).
Conversation piece
The sonic wizards of the Netherlands at Pentatone have released their latest in the series of Maestro Lawrence Foster’s studio opera recordings. Reunited with his Lisbon forces, the Gulbenkian Orquestra and Coro, for a fresh take on Puccini’s three-hanky weeper.
Mountain high, valley low
Be wary of operas that are famous for just one aria or just one famous opinion.
Future imperfect
This year’s treat was Vittorio Gnecchi’s Cassandra, completed around 1905
Going Hollywood
The Hollywood Bowl is truly the preeminent musical venue in Los Angeles.
When the sun comes out
This year as part of Bard’s “Puccini and His World” festival audiences may witness the resurrection of Mascagni’s distinctly odd Iris.
The rules of attraction
Is Manon Lescaut a cold, clinical tale of the splendors and pitfalls of transactional sex, or is it a romantic Italian opera at its most lush and melodic?
Le canard de la semaine
La Cieca would like to introduce a new feature debunking a popular misconception about some aspect of opera. To kick of the series, let us take into consideration Manon Lescaut’s expedition into the “desert” of Louisiana.
See the pretty diva in that mirror there
The diva must be a Diva in Adriana Lecouvreur. Fact.
Tosca’s dress
So the question was raised (on opera-l, actually, but La Cieca doesn’t mind discussing it in more downmarket venues): in Luc Bondy‘s production of Tosca, Karita Mattila appears in the third act in an entirely new outfit, a sort of tailored trenchcoat of dark leather-like fabric, but whatever she’s wearing, isn’t is a mistake?