The Acts grow ever more Unnatural as La Cieca introduces the fourth and final segment of Adriana Lecouvreur. Later in the show, we hear Magda Olivero making a debut at an age when most people are ready to retire! Unnatural Acts of Opera
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
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Is it just La Cieca, or does someone at the New York Times have it in for Stephanie Blythe? Not the story by Anthony Tommasini, which is standard worshippy stuff — but the photos!
This is from last night. La Cieca should note that she was not at this performance (1/29/2009), but a member of the cher public armed with an iPhone was. The clip is presented for the purposes of discussion. Tombe La Cieca will begin the discussion by noting that the scene is performed down a half…
The operatives were busy over the midnight hours: “Act 3 was a mixed bag. The opening showed Villazon in much better form, with solid phrasing. The Mad Scene started out beautiful, Netrebko spinning out haunting legato. She was completely involved and engaged. Then she fell apart at the flute solo, sounding under supported and wavering…
UPDATE: And now the reactions to Act 2: “Villazon continued to struggle. Pushed upper register and passaggio. High notes he seems to accomplish (or in some cases misses) by sheer will of force. Aside from a beautiful legato in the sextet, his voice is very worrisome. Netrebko has bloomed in this act, acuti seemingly in…
Mom of the Moment Anna Netrebko and her weapons-grade bazooms are featured in an interview with the Post’s Barbara Hoffman.
La Cieca hears that tonight’s Lucia at the Met will be the criterion for deciding whether one or both of the leads might be replaced for the final two performances of the run including the HD telecast February 7. La Cieca, alas, cannot be in the theater tonight, drat that pesky root canal, so she…
La Cieca has obtained some exclusive footage from the first camera rehearsal for the upcoming HD telecast of Lucia di Lammermoor from the Met. Extra rehearsals, she hears, have already been called! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/6Wg04e24UPc” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Cher public, a number of you have written asking how you can post links to YouTube videos in your comments. La Cieca is continuing to research the situation, but here’s a preliminary solution. When you are copying and pasting the URL of the YouTube video into your comment, omit the http:// , beginning the address…
This looks like fun.
La Cieca has just heard that Opera Orchestra of New York will cancel the remainder of their 2009 season, which was to have consisted of Rienzi on March 19 and Medea on April 21.
To finish the run of Lucia, including the HD. Just a guess, mind you.
For those who are interested, the following clip will help establish the tonality of Rolando Villazòn‘s final aria last night. Rolando’s key (This clip was sent to La Cieca by a member of the cher public who prefers to remain anonymous. The clip is provided for discussion purposes only.)
“It’s been long enough, Ephraim.” JudyCast has decided to join the human race again!
A new feature just introduced on the Met’s website allows customers to view and select exact seats available for a given performance. It’s handy for those of us in the audience who prefer a certain row or area, but another less obvious benefit is that the online maps offer a snapshot of how ticket sales…
Your doyenne dusts off her singing pipes and then welcomes a guest from the Great White Way into our luxurious new Sunnyside studios, all as introduction to the third act of Adriana Lecouvreur starring Magda Olivero, on this week’s Unnatural Acts of Opera. Adriana Lecouvreur, Act 3
All the way from exotic Portland, Operaman writes: Yesterday I attended the Met HD transmission of Orfeo ed Euridice and, once I have told you my reactions and feelings about this show, I cannot wait to hear what members of your cher public who saw or heard it have to say about it. And I…
Far too easy, or at least far too straightforward, was last week’s Regie quiz. From the very beginning Lindoro and many others recognized Pfitzner’s Palestrina. The very handsome production was seen recently at the Bavarian State Opera. Christian Stückl was the director and Stefan Hageneier the designer. Is this week’s quiz a trifle more challenging?…
But you might call it deconstruction avant la lettre. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/rarkvZ4Cc0A” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
La Cieca is perhaps a little slow on the uptake these days. Your dimwitted doyenne only just noticed (when it was pointed out to her, that is) that the conductor for Anna Netrebko‘s return to the stage at the Mariinsky on January 14 was Keri-Lynn Wilson. Ms. Wilson is of course not only a distinguished…
Heldentenordiva Jon Villars (center, in mohawk) “basically fired himself by walking off the stage” at a public dress rehearsal for the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Fidelio. According to a report in The Globe and Mail, Villars stormed off stage immediately after conductor Gregor Buhl “loudly sang out a few phrases of the tenor’s part”…
La Cieca is naturally drawn to a headline reading “Upheaval at the Opera House” as bees to honey or ugly to a bear. Imagine her surprise, then, when the titular upheaval has nothing to do with Dallas Opera, the New York City Opera, La Scala, or even the Met. So far as she can make…
Vivian Della Chiesa, “Toscanini’s favorite soprano,” died on Tuesday. She was 94. Della Chiesa is heard in the Trio from I Lombardi with Jan Peerce and Nicola Moscona, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, in a radio concert from January 31, 1943. “Qui posa il fianco… Qual volutta trascorrere”
STEMdiva status
Ahead of a special boozy, bawdy Valentine’s Day concert, artistic director of Opera Lafayette Patrick Quigley speaks with soprano Maya Kherani about her journey from MIT to rising American Baroque star.
A Baroque Valentine’s with Opera Lafayette | Feb | DC & NYC
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.