Joyce Di Donato‘s latest release is a CD entirely devoted to music Rossini composed for his first wife, Isabella Colbran, one of the most celebrated divas of the early 19th century.
I need to state right off the bat that I have never been one to worship at the altar of Maria Callas. While I can acknowledge her greatness, there are many other singers whom I prefer in the Bel Canto repertoire. So I was skeptical when I began watching Callas Assoluta from ArtHaus Musik.
La Cieca hears that Angela Meade, triumphant in this summer’s Semiramide at Caramoor, has been invited back there in 2010 for her first Norma. Other future dates include Les Vêpres siciliennes in Vienna and a return engagement at the Met in Ernani. On the bill at Caramoor for 2011: that grandest of all grand operas,…
What impressed La Cieca at the Caramoor concert of Semiramide on Friday was not so much the quality of the performance (though that was on a solidly high level) but the magnificence of the work itself. This magnificence stands out now in even greater relief after the comparison with Les Huguenots later in the weekend.
La Cieca finally finished listening to her review copy of the Beverly Sills reissue Norma last night, a recording she hasn’t heard since, oh, sometime during the disco era. This is first time this recording has appeared on CD, at least in wide release, and naturally going to be of interest to Sills (or Shirley…
Simply everyone chimes in today about Monday night’s Met in the Parks recital at Central Park SummerStage. JJ has one take, Anthony Tommasini quite another, and for depth of detail, you need look no further than Our Own Sanford:
La Cieca presents with pride her latest installment of Unnatural Acts of Opera, the Donizetti rarity Belisario, featuring legendary Leyla Gencer as vengeful Roman matron Antonina.
Leyla Gencer: The very name is exotic. She was an artist of Turkish ancestry who, during the 1950s and 60s, held her own despite the presence of Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Renata Scotto, Montserrat Caballe, and Magda Olivero, all of whom shared roles in her repertoire. Ironically, Gencer has a number of important credits attached…
Something to enjoy during the between Cav/Pag and the 3:00 pm kickoff time for Sonnambulathis afternoon. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ro6kC07cDn0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
[Our Own Gualtier Malde (along with a few thousand other people) attended the public dress rehearsal of the Met’s new production of La sonnambula this morning. Here is his report.] Innocence, rustic naiveté and virginity just don’t get no respect no more. I should know, I grew up way out in central New Jersey and…
One of La Cieca’s most trusted spies wangled his way into the house last night for the surprise cast change in Lucia di Lammermoor, and here’s his report: Perhaps it is the side benefit of low expectations, but I was not offended by Anna Netrebko‘s performance on Tuesday night. Though certainly not a bel canto…
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…
Here’s a brief video clip from Russian TV news on Anna Netrebko‘s return to the operatic stage in Lucia di Lammermoor last night at the Mariinsky. For Netrebko’s return, the Mariinsky imported a production of the Donizetti classic directed by John Doyle. It is unclear from early reports whether Netrebko was required to play the…
UPDATE: A quick preview of tonight’s (this afternoon’s, actually) spectacular radio broadcast of I puritani from the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. First, a hint of some of the “new” musical ideas in this edition of Puritani. This is the final cabaletta of the opera, performed (as it was apparently originally intended) as a duet for…
Miraculous Mariella Devia sings “Casta diva” at a New Year’s Day concert at La Fenice. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/1rEx2M5zRX0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Mariella Devia at amazon.com
La Cieca hears whispers that Will Crutchfield‘s “Bel Canto at Caramoor” may be the next victim of the economic crisis. No reflection on Will (he can’t be expected to predict the future, after all), but the year the nation enters a recession is hardly the best time to try to put on Semiramide. Update: La Cieca just…
Our Own Gualtier Maldè reports: Not every opera has to be a masterpiece. I couldn’t subsist on a steady diet of Tristan und Isolde, Die Zauberfloete, Fidelio, plus Otello, Falstaff et al. Frankly the occasional light comic bonbon or trashy but fun melodramatic tunefest makes a nice palate cleanser. I am talking Adriana Lecouvreur, La…
Our Own Gualtier Maldè reports: The Met’s orchestra and audience have found a new conductor to love: Daniel Barenboim.  The debutante conductor got a huge ovation before he even lifted his baton. Lots of applause for Danny B. all night from an adoring audience including a generous amount at his final bow. There was lots of touchy feely…
A new spy debuts in La Cieca’s service, reporting from the first night of WNO’s Lucrezia Borgia: Overall, I thought the opera was worth the price of attendance. The costumes of the main characters looked like something from Star Trek. Renée Fleming‘s hair looked like Tina Turner circa 1984. Fleming was impressive, especially in many…
Hunks in skimpy loincloths have long been a feature of productions of twentieth century opera, especially during the Christopher Keene era at New York City Opera. But you don’t often get to see much homoerotic action in bel canto works like Norma, more’s the pity. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/sFdrWy8TzSQ” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] [via Barihunks]
Soprano Elizabeth Futral and tenor Stephen Costello bring a cougarific vibe to Fort Worth Opera Festival‘s Lucia di Lammermoor May 25 through June 7. The Donizetti work is in repertory with Turandot and Angels in America, so it sounds like Memorial Day Weekend in Fort Worth is about the gayest time to be had in…
Well, in fact your doyenne just warbles a few bars of a dear old Jerry Herman tune, but the real news is the second part of Montserrat Caballé‘s legendary New York debut as Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezia Borgia Act 1
[This article originally appeared in the print zine precursor to this site, one of a series of surveys of live recordings by critic Leila de Lakmé.] Leyla Gencer. The very name is exotic. She was an artist of Turkish ancestry who, during the 1950s and 60s, held her own despite the presence of Maria Callas,…
La Cieca offers her own personal salute to a very special holiday with an edition of Unnatural Acts of Opera featuring Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. In this legendary April 20, 1965 performance, the eponymous antiheroine is Montserrat Caballé. Lucrezia Borgia (Prologue)
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.
