Your guess is as good as mine
So what does it mean when the owner of Anna Netrebko‘s fan blog says, “An ‘a-priori’ important press conference will be held in Munich on Monday 17. May 2011… We are looking forward to hearing what are the news….”?
blog bloggity blog
“Nor women’s matters, but with awl”
“Not unlike Calisto and Linfea, two of the nymphs in Cavalli’s 1651 opera La Calisto who inhabit the Arcadia under the spell of the goddess Diana, we meet at river banks, so to speak, and feed each other’s adoration for the Huntress.” Bloggress Lydia Perovi? discusses the “Otter effect” on “relatively reasonable” gay women at […]
Brittania rule the lake
Houston Grand Opera’s Brit-in-Chief Anthony Freud will take an early departure of his post (recently extended to 2015) to move into the power vacuum created by the departure of William Mason from Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2012, says Culturemap Houston.
(140) Characters needed
“You’re so resourceful, darling! I ought to go to you for plots.” “You ought to go to someone.” La Cieca knows that when plots are in question, she need go no farther than the cher public, which is why she’s reminding you (late in the game, admittedly) of the annual Omniscient Mussel #Operaplot Competition. No, […]
Blonde item
“It’s just that it seems rather perverse to have cast such opulent voices and then given them not much to sing…. the role of Anna Nicole would not stretch Danielle de Niese.” Loyal parterrian Jondrytay (not pictured) looked in on the Royal Opera’s Anna Nicole and shared this thoughts on his blog Not So Wunderbar.
Huge
“When I left the opera house, I stumbled to the next train out of town and fell immediately asleep; when I left the afternoon broadcast, I stepped out onto the sidewalk and discovered that the sun had set while I’d been in the dark, watching. The sky’d gone all orange and blue and was seemingly […]
Not a what?
If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from La Cieca (pictured, right) today, it’s because JJ (pictured, left) has been busy writing and stuff. By “and stuff,” he means primarily seeing an amazing production of Tennessee Williams‘ Vieux Carré by the Wooster Group and reacting to it at Musical America. See you all tomorrow at […]
Noxious in China
In this artist’s conception, your intrepid girl reporter La Cieca is seen covering tomorrow’s season preview press conference at the Met. Assuming she regains consciousness in time, watch for her live reports from the event beginning at 1:00 pm, right here on parterre.com!
Sister act
Our Own JJ salutes three sister bloggers (of whom only one is female) in his current Rough and Regie column at Musical America.
The beauty part
Burgeoning blogress Poison Ivy asks the musical question “Which operas should have beautiful productions?” La Cieca encourages the cher public to detour to her blog “Poison Ivy’s Wall of Text” and comment on her very interesting and (La Cieca is delighted to note) thought-provoking post.
Nothing can stop the fan
Commenter emerita Poison Ivy (now a blogress in her own right) takes on the dark side of fandom over at Poison Ivy’s Wall of Text. Find out what the fan did!
Don’t leave home without it
Congratulations to Opera Chic, named “Essential Opera Blogger” in the current Opera News by a panel consisting of Brian Kellow and Tristan Kraft.
A masked brawl
The blogger Crew Mantle, who is perhaps best known as that fellow who attends opera performances wearing a frilly Venetian carnival mask, complained earlier this week about something or other (who can say, really?) but more to the point he made a catty observation on the subject of La Cieca’s adored cher public (pictured), and […]
Mud flung!
Eyes flash! Fans snap! Petticoats rustle omiously! It’s a full-scale diva catfight online as producer David McVicar lashes out at the “sheer, crass ignorance and spitefulness” of bloggress Intermezzo!
There’s something about Maurizio
The blog GTL Torn T (which La Cieca assumes has something to do with gay teens in torn t-shirts) offers a sound clip from the prima of Adriana Lecouvreur at the Royal Opera. Very attractive stuff, though La Cieca must insist that she does not care for that concert ending on “La dolcissima effigie!”
Yet dead
“Revival. Strange word, and creepy, when you think about it. Something used to be alive, then it wasn’t and now (presumably) it is, again. But it’s that last step, the actual reviving that seems so often to elude the revival of an opera production.” [Musical America]
The Regie on the Edge of Forever
Our Own JJ delves into the mysteries of time travel—as it relates to opera production, of course. [Musical America]
Saying a mouthful
“A few critics hosannaed ‘Thanks be to Great God Lenny for smooching us once more with his plump, moist genius,’ but the majority echoed Cecil B. DeMille’s tactful reaction to Norma Desmond’s bizarre comeback screenplay, “There are some good things in it…’” Our Own JJ reflects on Christopher Alden‘s direction of A Quiet Place at […]
Future perfect
La Cieca is delighted to note that old, old, old friend Brad Wilber (pictured) has relocated to his own niche of the internet. His Met Futures Page (the Necronomicon of opera queenery) may now be found, with the most recent and delicious updates, at bradwilber.com/metfuture.
Purple prose
Our Own JJ‘s heart has been blessed with the sound of Regie, and he’s blogged once more. This time it’s about The Little Foxes at New York Theatre Workshop. [Rough and Regie]
Wide ranging Regie
Our Own JJ has launched yet another blog (king of all media that he is), this one devoted to the study of Regie in all its forms and formats. It’s over at MusicalAmerica.com, and the author has given La Cieca permission to invite you all to comment. [Rough and Regie]
Icing on the Cake
One of La Cieca’s favoritest bloggers in the whole wide world, Opera Cake, takes on the task of reviewing and explicating the “tough” Calixto Bieito production of Aïda, now running in Basel. And another scribe rapidly moving up in the ranks, Likely Impossibilities, takes a different but equally valid approach.
Gross misconduct?
Says the Met press office: “Alfred Kim will make his Met debut as Manrico in three fall performances of Il Trovatore, replacing Marcelo Álvarez, who has withdrawn from the November 11, 15, and 19 performances for personal reasons.”
Your friend when things get rough
There have been about 2,000 reviews of the Met’s new Rheingold so far, but for now, anyway, this one is my favorite—and not only for “Sid and Marty“.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
