Any singer who is known as “The Croatian Yma Sumac” you know already has won a place in La Cieca’s deepest heart of hearts. So the astonishing production values of the theatrical experience that is known as Priinceza na zrnu graÅ¡ka can only add to your doyenne’s abject veneration for the one, the only… Zdenka…
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.
Plácido Domingo will sing the role of Maurizio in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur at the Metropolitan Opera for six performances in February 2009, replacing Marcelo Ãlvarez, who, as we heard before, is jumping into the title role in the Met’s new production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore. As the press release from the Met notes, “With these…
With the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2008-2009 season barely a month away, La Cieca is already half-drunk with the sheer glamour of it all. Not only will this first night boast a bouquet of bonbons from Renée Fleming‘s greatest rôles (and, frankly, aren’t they all?), but the musical experience will be enhanced by…
My dears, you only thought the whingeing about the Met ticket exchange line was over. Now that the shell-shocked and frostbitten survivors of the Gelb Gulag have dragged themselves back to their rent-controlled flats on upper Columbus Avenue, the next stage of the protest against the Met’s barbaric practices can begin. As in every violent…
Speaking of divas on the cusp of their second half-century of life, Madonna turned 50 this past weekend. That reminds La Cieca of a kinder if not gentler time when MTV was actually pretty cool, as this spoof promo from the era demonstrates. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9IR_3lqBzsc” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Many of you guessed the solution already, but here’s the trailer from the most recent Regie quiz, this time with its soundtrack restored.
La Cieca braves tornado warnings (tornado warnings!) to bring her cher public the final Unnatural Acts of Thomas’ Hamlet. Hamlet Acts 4 and 5
It seems to be a day for funny pictures. Here’s barihunk Daniel Belcher as Billy Budd, who he looks like he can’t wait to come aboard the Indomitable! (Cher public, you just know you want to click to enlarge!)
Now, never let it be said that La Cieca was in any way opposed to glamour, and you know very well that is a fervent believer in dear Pablo Picasso‘s maxim that “art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” But, on the other hand, there’s this month’s cover of Opera News.
La Cieca has just learned that veteran soprano and beloved camp diva Katia Ricciarelli is treading the boards again, this time not in opera houses but rather on whatever it is they call the Italian version of the Straw Hat Circuit. The bionda bombshell is currently touring in a play with music by by Peter…
La Cieca has just learned that Salvatore Licitra has withdrawn “for personal reasons” from the Met’s new Trovatore, which opens February 16, 2009. Marcelo Ãlvarez will be Manrico instead, which means he (Ãlvarez) will cancel Adriana Lecouvreur, which opens on February 6. The replacement Maurizio will be announced at a later date once the hysterical…
Some of the starry roster for the Rudolf Bing Farewell Gala accept the plaudits cher public. Ah, 1972, when opera and hair were at their respective peaks of style! Introducing the cavalcade of curtain calls is La Cieca’s role model Risë Stevens. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/2m6M9rPgAbs” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
La Cieca is warning you she’s going to get meta for a while here, so if it’s opera (or even hunks) you’re interested in, you might want to skim or just skip this posting altogether. Anyway, your doyenne has noticed lately on another blog or two where she is a commenter a phenomenon she is…
It seems the revolution has already begun at the Metropolitan Opera. This bit of disgruntled graffiti left over from Monday’s subscription exchange massacre reads, “Oh, really?? Thanks for nothing!! An Angry Subscriber!!”
The current issue of The Advocate includes an interview with adorable 27-year-old bedhead Nico Muhly about his next composition project, an opera “based on a true Internet romance/friendship between two teenage boys that ended in one of the two stabbing the other to death.” Muhly’s “teen gay Internet sex drama,” to a libretto by Craig Lucas,…
RogerEvansOnline reports that George Steel, executive director of Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, will be the new general director of the Dallas Opera. La Cieca would like to take a moment to recognize the “man bites dog” novelty angle of this story: Steel is not British.
La Cieca hears that Anna Netrebko has scheduled the birth of The Schrott Tot for September 1 in Salzburg via c-section.
According to Variety, America’s Soprano Renée Fleming is poised to conquer new worlds of entertainment. Not content to rest on her laurels as diva, scent entrepreneur, dessert namesake and single working mother, Fleming has signed with talent agency Paradigm who promise to “scout out opportunities in thesping, endorsement, publishing and digital media” for the artist “with the…
Today’s NYT includes an overview of the kvetchfest that was yesterday’s first day of subscription ticket exchanges at the Met. La Cieca thinks it’s just so quaint that every public event in New York eventually degenerates into threats of coup d’état (“I was thinking of figuring out a way to organize this group to take…
Premiere Opera Podcast has returned after a hiatus of several months, and, as always, Ed Rosen keeps us up to date with the latest tenor activities. Recent episodes include excerpts from a duo recital (Juan Diego Flòrez and Rolando Villazòn) and a Lucia scene from Stephen Costello.
La Cieca’s toughest Regie quiz so far baffled even the cleverest of the cher public. Admittedly it was not exactly a warhorse, but the title should be recognizable enough: Chabrier’s L’etoile. To atone for this perhaps overdone obfuscation, your doyenne offers a special treat this week. It’s a video trailer for an opera, stripped of…
La Cieca puts on the trousers (which is more than she can say for some of the cher public) and highlights her versatility by playing a male role! But even your doyenne’s dulcet speaking voice is no match for Simon Keenlyside‘s robust (ahem!) performance of the operatic Dane. Hamlet Act 3
La Cieca has just learned that Anna Netrebko, who is currently awaiting the September arrival of her first child, has withdrawn from her scheduled Met performances as Mimì on December 29, 2008 and January 3 matinee, 6, and 10, 2009. According to a press release from the met, the soprano “has decided that she will need a…
Christa Ludwig is a one-woman melting pot! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://ca.youtube.com/v/c2Xty48hNaA” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
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.