La Cieca has compliled a complete listing of Met Sirius/RealNetworks broadcasts for 2008-2009.
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.
La Cieca is delighted to note that that ragtag band of misfits known as the Vertical Player Repertory will return to their non-traditional performing venue, the Red Hook Marine Terminal, for a new production of The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, weekend evenings at 8 pm September 5-21. Following up on last season’s successful…
So you doyenne may better know the minds of her cher public, she asks you to participate in the following online poll. Which Metropolitan Opera performances this year do you consider the most sizzling Sternstunden, the not-to-be-missed evenings of musico-dramatic madness, or (to put it another way) those nights when you know everyone will be…
Patrician Pat Munsel wows the panel. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/CUp9oXu8lRA” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] (Thanks to clever Youtuber jonedgar for the clip!)
Our Own Lindoro has contributed a vocal ID quiz based on Liù’s first act aria from Turandot. This one’s just for fun, so feel free to make your guesses in the comments section. Signore, ascolta!
According to a statement on the Bayreuth website, stepsisters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier will take over the Festspiele from their father Wolfgang Wagner, who is retiring after more than half a century at the helm of the festival. Members of the “Wieland” branch of the Wagner family tree are, of course, furious at this…
La Cieca can’t put anything past Tamerlano, who guessed the answer to our previous Regie quiz almost immediately: it was indeed Ariadne auf Naxos. And now, with a reminder to all that this is a guessing game, no blurting out the answers if you recognize the production, here’s out next quiz (right after the jump):Â
La Cieca (not pictured) is delighted to note that the delightful and learned Nicholas Limansky (also not pictured) will grace the stage of the next Vocal Record Collectors Society meeting to explore the controversial topic of extended or “freak” sopranos. The main topic of his talk will of course be the Peruvian songbird Yma Sumac,…
August 30 is the anniversary of the birth of a famous Quickly: Regina Resnik! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ipFMt7bPStg” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] And here we have Mme. Resnik in a campy mood, sending up the faux-exoticism of Kismet. Not Since Nineveh!
In honor of the 158th anniversary of the premiere of Lohengrin, Unnatural Acts of Opera presents a performance of the Wagnerian work from Vienna in 1965 under the baton of Dr. Karl Böhm. Lohengrin, Act 1
It seems our lovely Shequida was not what the judges were looking for, not that night, anyway. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/atilzaDBVcg” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Â
La Cieca about to try one of those 21st century activities all the kids are talking about, and no, it’s not chugging Nyquil. Your doyenne is going to use crowdsourcing (that is, put you cher public to work as reporters) to cover the Met’s Opening Night Gala on September 22, 2008 at 6:30 pm. Since…
“I think that there will be an increased desire in the future to hear great singing again. Certain operas rise and fall on having the requisite vocal chops, and no degree of theatrical energy or physical glamor can replace this.” So says is IMG Artists Vice President and Artist Manager Matthew A. Horner (known affectionately…
Here’s the solution to the Elfte Brautnacht! vocal ID quiz:
Opera Chic reports this morning that Gerard Mortier is throwing his hat in the, uh, Ring for the co-directorship of the Bayreuth Festival. The Belgian intendant is reportedly teaming up with Nike Wagner to apply for the top Bayreuth spot to be vacated as soon as it can be pried from Wolfgang Wagner‘s cold dead…
Three-time World’s Best-selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year Céline Dion apparently has not come to her senses in the eight months that have passed since her Las Vegas farewell. As La Cieca warned you last year, the québécoise canary is planning a crossover into the cinema, specifically a biopic in which she, Céline…
Our previous Regie quiz depicted (as Nerva Nelli so quickly guessed) Verdi’s Aida, in a production by Christopher Alden for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. And now, cher public, our weekly edition of Name that Regie. Remember, if you have seen the production or otherwise recognize the photos, please remain silent while others guess the answer!
“Alex, age 4, clearly in love with what he’s hearing and seeing.” [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9uyJ-hrTknA” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
That bloggeress La Cieca likes to think of as “like a young me,” OperaChic, is currently and brilliantly following up on the controversy sparked by Lorin Maazel‘s grumpy condemnation of those darn newfangled stage directors who won’t get out of his yard. Consarn it. Joining Maazel in tying an onion to his belt is the…
Several of you cher public have been kind enough to forward to me an email from Peter Gelb offering the Met’s apology for the debacle of the first day of subscriber ticket exchanges. Though La Cieca has sneered a bit at the Buoso Donati contingent, she certainly can understand why loyal subscribers might feel that…
Here’s a very special audio quiz for La Cieca’s cher public du weekend. In the following mp3 clip, 11 sopranos sing the soaring aria “Zweite Brautnacht!” from Die Ägyptische Helena of Richard Strauss. If you think you can identify these beauties, email [email protected]. The first email received with the names of all 11 sopranos in…
La Cieca hears that at least one of the ultracool ultraqueer world premieres scheduled for the Met is definitely off the bill.
La Cieca’s dear colleage The Counter Critic is writing a piece for a New York paper about the Met’s HD program. He is looking for “people to interview who have seen the simulcasts, and who have strong opinions about how folks behave during the screenings.” Here’s your chance for your voice to be heard loud…
The months of speculation in the media are now over: it’s time to name the candidate.
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.
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.