La Cieca has just heard that that veteran thespian Marian Seldes will make her Metropolitan Opera debut on April 21 as the Duchess of Krakenthorp in the company’s new production of Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, replacing Zoe Caldwell, who is ill. La Seldes will play the Duchess for the entire run of performances through…

By on April 09, 2008 at 7:30 PM
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Cher public, you have striven valiantly but no one of you has managed to accomplish what was most likely an impossible task: the identification of 14 singers of Violetta in only a few notes. As a group mind, though, you came awfully close. And so, to put an end to this particular source of stress,…

By on March 13, 2008 at 11:25 AM
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The Met’s second season of “Live in HD” continues on Saturday, March 15 at 1:30 pm/est with the new production of Britten’s Peter Grimes. Tenor Anthony Dean Griffey sings the title role, Patricia Racette is the kindhearted Ellen Orford, and Anthony Michaels-Moore is Balstrode. Donald Runnicles conducts. Intermission features include live interviews hosted by star…

By on March 12, 2008 at 1:48 PM
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La Cieca has just exited the season preview for the Met’s 08-09 season (no, she was not thrown out, she left of her own volition) and here’s what’s up.

By on March 04, 2008 at 4:06 PM
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Cher public, the Met is expected to unveil the specifics of their 2008-2009 season later today. While we’re waiting for all the luscious and/or gory details, La Cieca thought it might be fun to do a quick recap of the season as is is predicted on Brad Wilber‘s MetManiac site. Brad (who historically is spot-on…

By on March 04, 2008 at 11:29 AM
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Here is a new discovery for La Cieca, brought to her attention by Erstegeiger, for which many thanks. If Florence Foster Jenkins, Lucille Ball and Natalie Dessay had a three-way, and if one of them (or more) got pregnant, that baby just might grow up to be: Mabouba Sol della Vega! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://uk.youtube.com/v/QcEp9STHFUc” width=”425″ height=”350″…

By on February 09, 2008 at 3:30 PM
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11:40: Then Rene Pape matched Hvorostovsky, then Zajick matched (topped?) them both, then who the hell had the idiotic idea of doing the Easter Hymn with a mezzo who can’t sing it and the chorus apparently stoned or else in another city? (Oh, and did you notice the long, noisy scene change afterward? Vintage Volpe.)11:05:…

By on May 20, 2006 at 11:25 PM
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La Cieca has just learned the scheduled roster and repertoire for the Volpe Farewell Gala to be performed on Saturday, May 20 (and, if all this music stays in the show, part of May 21 as well.) Deborah Voigt will open the program with special material by Ben Moore, accompanied by Brian Zeger. The first…

By on April 30, 2006 at 9:13 PM
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That Eveready Rabbit of a diva, Montserrat Caballe, is going to camp it up once more at the Vienna State Opera when she makes her role debut as the Duchesse de Krackenthorp (the Ljuba Welitsch part) in Laurent Pelly‘s production of Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment in April 2007. This production, starring Natalie Dessay and…

By on March 31, 2006 at 3:20 PM
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La Cieca has just heard that the “flying bed”effect in the Met’s new production of Romeo et Juliette malfunctioned last night, sending Natalie Dessay tumbling six feet onto a hard platform and leaving Ramon Vargas dangling. The bed is suspended from “invisible” wires and appears to float in a starry sky, a tableau that opens…

By on November 18, 2005 at 3:06 PM
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La Cieca, ear to ground as always, has picked up some reliable-sounding scuttlebutt about the incoming Peter Gelb regime at the Met. The first decade will probably be known as “All Villazon All the Time” since (per our source), Rolando Villazon has inked a pledge to sing two operas a year at the Met for…

By on November 17, 2005 at 2:46 AM
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Natalie Dessay is out of tonight’s prima of Romeo et Juliette at the Met; Maureen O’Flynn sings (and, incidentally, will go into the annals as the “creator” of the role in this particular production). Dessay is still on the roster for Thursday’s performance.

By on November 14, 2005 at 6:35 PM
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