Dear departed Shelley Winters knew a thing or two about the diva experience, and one of her most apt mediations on the topic may be found in her memoirThe Middle of My Century. She was starring in the Broadway production of A Hatful of Rain, and during rehearsals she stumbled on the heavily raked stage,…

By on July 08, 2009 at 8:31 AM
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“Ya are going on tonight at the Royal Opera in Barbiere. In a wheelchair!”

By on July 07, 2009 at 5:05 PM
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La Cieca hears that Joyce DiDonato took the proverbial “break a leg” too literally during the opening night of new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia at Covent Garden yesterday. The mezzo caught her foot in a track on the steeply-raked stage and fractured her leg during the first act. Despite the pain, she continued…

By on July 05, 2009 at 4:08 PM
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I thought that it would be fun to tell you about a little concert last Sunday here in Montréal, with Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato and Matthew Polenzani. It was actually the first time that I have heard any of them in the flesh, so I was most curious to see if the voices…

By on May 06, 2008 at 11:21 AM
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