Which opera house’s notoriously conservative backers would be shocked to hear the company is currently holding auditions for supers to perform simulated acts of bestiality?
As so often in the past, cher public, “La Cieca ci guarda – la Cieca ci vede!” Today, the New York Times offers the strongest suggestion yet that Cecilia Bartoli will bring her Norma to New York. You will no doubt recall that this event was first foreseen here in a blind item, and then reported last week.
This riotous opera transports the Oedipus tale to an apocalyptic 1980s London, plagued by police violence, racism, and socioeconomic decay. Intrepid composer Mark-Anthony Turnage’s (Anna Nicole) 1988 breakthrough brilliantly combines cockney-accented profanity and irreverent drama with an audacious score and outstanding four-person cast. Eddy (tenor Alex Otterburn), our modern-day Oedipus, dreams of a better life. After hearing a fortune teller’s disturbing prediction, he resolves at all costs to avoid shagging his own mum (soprano Susan Bullock) and inadvertently killing his father (tenor Andrew Shore). But he is unable to outrun fate, landing in the prophetically maternal arms of an East End café manager (mezzo soprano Allison Cook). Thirty years later, Greek still resonates, offering an incisive, brash contemporary statement on accountability and family. Read more »
Which operatic heartthrob—who’s loved everywhere on earth, in fact—plans to make a surprise return to the Met to sing in next weekend’s 50th anniversary gala?
Which octogenarian fixture of the operatic world is preparing to make a farewell of sorts, perhaps as soon as late summer of this year?
Which diva has blamed her chronic tardiness at rehearsals on a bad case of misaligned throat chakra?
Which two divine opera productions will make New York fans feel like they’ve got the sun in the morning and the moon at night when these stagings arrive here in the 2018-2019 season?
Which opera director’s new position seems to have gone to his head? At a recent round of auditions, he reportedly encouraged the singers to disrobe.
Which legendary operatic lady of New York, now in the twilight of her career, is currently studying a dusty old bel canto score in preparation for yet another comeback?
Cher Public