I’m never gonna dance again
A starry cast is hampered by Christof Loy‘s dour production of Rusalka in Barcelona
Zachary Woolfe
21 pieces since 2010.
21
pieces
17
years
Up stares, down stares
Ahead of tomorrow’s Live in HD, Michael Steinberg talks Leonore, Salome, and the “endemic misogyny” of Claus Guth‘s new production
The age of Innocence
The score for Innocence was menacing yet comforting, and, essentially, violent and peaceful at the same time
Femenine mystique
“What I am trying to achieve is to be what I am to the fullest. Black to the fullest, a musician to the fullest, a homosexual to the fullest.”
Video: Celebrating James Jorden
The parterre team is glad to make available a professionally produced recording of the February 3rd memorial held in honor of parterre box founder James Jorden
Celebrating 30 Years of parterre box
Readers, writers, and stars reflect on the 30th anniversary of “the most essential blog in opera” (NYT)
Diva moment
Angela Meade, reportedly flown in at the very last minute to take on the role of Norma, absolutely triumphed, pulling out all the stops to deliver a commanding performance that should, indeed, go down in history.
Idol gossip
During the 70s, Kiri Te Kanawa, particularly singing Mozart, became one of my favorite singers.
The Lady Eve
For nearly 70 years, New York City was the world capital of concert opera thanks first to the American Opera Society, then to Eve Queler’s Opera Orchestra of New York.
A dark drab dud
I never imagined I’d see such a rote park-and-bark Wagner production created in 2020!
Shipwreck
After tonight’s dark drab dud of a Dutchman, I was plunged into despair.
“Operatic whitewashing”
On the day of the Super Bowl, I attended a near-sold-out screening of the Paris Opéra’s recent production of Rameau’s 1735 opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes at New York’s Alliance Française.
Grazie Millo
There are, on rare occasions, moments in a live performance where some intangible symbiotic relationship between audience and performer creates an instant that borders on the sublime.
Out of sight, out of mind
Now, you would think nothing could please gaycentric La Cieca more than yesterday’s New York Times profile of the Met’s new music director…
A voice that must be heard
At the center of the Met’s revival of Puccini’s La bohème, one found the rich and layered talent of Angel Blue.
Racing with the moon
For better or worse, Decca’s new Norma recording
will ultimately be embraced—or dismissed—by those reacting directly to Cecilia Bartoli’s controversial portrayal.
Schrödinger’s cat fancy
“So is opera as vibrant as ever, or is it hanging on by a thread? How to write the history of an art form that hovers, Schrödinger’s catlike, simultaneously alive and dead?”
Take the Monnaie and run
“Though Mr. Herheim’s work is rigorous, it is also fun, and this Rusalka is serious but the opposite of dour.”
Lepage turner
“Near the end of Robert Lepage‘s production of Wagner’s Die Walküre, which opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, there is a moment of arresting visual beauty. The raked stage slowly rises and, with the help of projections, turns into a looming, stark, snow-covered mountain. It’s a breathtaking transformation, one that encapsulates everything that’s wrong […]
Face time
As we look forward to New Year’s Eve and to the gala opening of Willy Decker’s La Traviata at the Met, it seems fitting to look back—by way of the official, live, DVD recording of the production’s sensational world premiere at the Salzburg Festival in 2005—to get some sense of what’s behind all the hype. […]
Oh, how we danced on the night we were webbed
Lots of media news today, so let’s not waste any time! La Cieca congratulates Opera News on the occasion of the mag’s 75th anniversary this month, though your doyenne is willing to swear that the mag doesn’t look a day over 60!