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….”?

on May 15, 2011 at 10:21 PM

“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…

on April 21, 2011 at 1:21 PM

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.

on April 20, 2011 at 5:29 PM

“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,…

on April 13, 2011 at 9:33 PM

“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.

on March 02, 2011 at 10:04 AM

“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…

on February 18, 2011 at 9:35 PM

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…

on February 18, 2011 at 8:32 PM

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!

on February 15, 2011 at 11:47 PM

Our Own JJ salutes three sister bloggers (of whom only one is female) in his current Rough and Regie column at Musical America.

on January 28, 2011 at 4:49 PM

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. 

on January 26, 2011 at 10:24 AM

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!

on January 15, 2011 at 7:47 PM

Congratulations to Opera Chic, named “Essential Opera Blogger” in the current Opera News by a panel consisting of Brian Kellow and Tristan Kraft. 

on December 18, 2010 at 11:36 AM

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…

on December 14, 2010 at 10:53 AM

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!

on November 24, 2010 at 12:13 PM

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!”

on November 20, 2010 at 12:22 PM

“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]

on November 19, 2010 at 4:25 PM

Our Own JJ delves into the mysteries of time travel—as it relates to opera production, of course. [Musical America]

on November 12, 2010 at 11:57 AM

“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…

on November 04, 2010 at 4:57 PM

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.

on November 01, 2010 at 10:06 AM

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]

on October 29, 2010 at 10:23 AM

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]

on October 22, 2010 at 12:24 AM

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.

on October 12, 2010 at 12:59 PM

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.”

on October 07, 2010 at 4:17 PM

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“.

on October 05, 2010 at 4:22 PM
WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.