Who else but “Frantic” Franco Bonisolli? [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Xzg86rNphrI” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
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.
La Cieca is putting her entire nest egg into popcorn futures, since next season opera lovers will rarely emerge from their local movie palace. The Met will do an astonishing 11 HD simulcasts during the 2008-2009 season. Monday, September 22, 2008: Opening Night Gala starring the astonishingly well-preserved Renée Fleming in fully staged performances of La Traviata (Act…
“Sit with your legs extended in a VÂ shape. Place your hands in front of you, between your legs, keeping your arms straight. Now straighten your back and neck, and lift your feet as high as you can.” Well, my dears, if La Cieca had a dollar for every time she’s heard that, she could .…
Ramón Vargas sings the season’s final performance of Un ballo in maschera tomorrow night at the Met, substituting for Salvatore Licitra, who presumably has better things to do elsewhere.
“Camilla” is presumably “charismatic, vocally robust … uncommonly dashing and cagey” Luca Pisaroni. [NYT]
La Cieca has just added a new bit of functionality to the commenting system on parterre.com. As you type your comment into the form box, you will notice that lower on the page there will appear an instant preview of what your comment will look like. This feature is handy for checking spelling, and it…
” . . . he embodied Wozzeck, giving so much that by the end, after Wozzeck murdered Marie in a jealous fit, Mr. Keenlyside had perspired through his shirt.”
So what has so incensed readers of the New York Times that they have fired off a whole page of letters to the editor? Obama’s “bitter” remark? Immigration? DIplomacy with Israel? None of the above, in fact: topic du jour for Monday April 21 is the Met’s new policy on renewals for subscriptions to the…
Chita! Rita! . . . Christa?
Some commenters are more perceptive than others when it comes to the game of Name That Regie. In our previous competition, the quick-witted keithmc and the more cautious Ginevera were both correct: the opera is Cherubini’s Medée, in a production by Krzysztof Warlikowski for La Monnaie. The “Amy Winehouse” sorceress in the black pleather sheath…
A few minutes ago the Met’s website was updated to reflect the key casting news that the role of Lady Macbeth will be sung by Hasmik Papian in the final three performances of Verdi’s Macbeth this season. These three dates were originally assigned to Andrea Gruber, who now officially will sing no performances at the…
So, who’s listening to the broadcast of Satyagraha? Reactions?
Resilient tenor Rolando Villazón makes a guest appearance on the TV talent search show “Musical Showstar 2008.” In a serious mood, RV performs “The Impossible Dream,” but then things turn very silly indeed when host Thomas Gottschalk (the Ryan Seacrest of Germany) joins the tenor for a production number from Monty Python’s Spamalot. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Xdtfqvj-Gr8″…
In her classic romp Goin’ to Town, Mae West quipped, “When I’m good, I’m very good. But, when I’m bad, I’m better.” While Leontyne Price has never been quite so quick with the one-liners as dear Mae, she certainly can demonstrate the truth of La West’s epigram. Here, in a clip from a 1982 performance…
[Our Own Gualtier Maldè reports from this afternoon’s dress rehearsal of La Fille du Régiment] The Met has another hit on its hands — though not a totally new one, this production and cast already having triumphed at Covent Garden and the Vienna Staatsoper. Laurent Pelly (who vies with Davide Alagna and Mark Streshinsky as…
A gaggle of picadors from the Royal Opera demonstrate some of the choreography that didn’t make it onto the stage in this Francesca Zambello production of Carmen. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/ilDKRCbne6M” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
So we may chat about something besides Miss Battle and the Pope, La Cieca offers you a quiz she’s been keeping in the vault for just such an occasion. It’s devised by Our Own Sanford, and it features 12 vocalists performing the “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5.” Hint: the first voice you hear is that of…
Miss Battle sings for the Pope. Discuss. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/M959EKqr_N8″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
La Cieca sheepishly announces the long-overdue return of Unnatural Acts of Opera and a very belated birthday greeting. Tristan und Isolde, Act 2
La Cieca completes today’s Cleavage Trifecta with the following video discovered on YouTube: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/50nOUj64uNE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Dear Addison DeWitt once said, “You have a point. An idiotic one, but a point.” Actually he didn’t say it to La Cieca, but that’s neither here nor there. Since your doyenne is what you might call pathologically determined to see both sides of every questions, she’s going to reopen the can of worms here…
Now here’s some political news La Cieca can follow with interest: Merkel surprises with daring décolleté at Oslo opera That how The Local described German Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s appearance as a special guest at Saturday night’s gala celebrating the opening of Den Norske Opera’s new auditorium. It seems Die Kanzlerin racked up a double handful…
Flash phenomenon Izzy Anderson returns with an all-new choice of repertoire, and La Cieca has the exclusive. In fact, your doyenne’s old, old, old friend Wenarto created two variant versions of Izzy’s aria, and La Cieca was hard-pressed (ahem!) to choose between them. True, the take seen below features far better singing, but in the…
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.
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.