Angela Gheorghiu, not to be outdone by Anna Netrebko‘s cancellation of Violetta in 2010, has just announced that she will not sing Carmen in 2009. According to the Romanian diva’s website, “With deep regret Angela Gheorghiu has to announce that she has to withdraw just from the new production of CARMEN at the MET later…
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This is someone we need to hear more of. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/lOraQt705FY” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/zeMMG440Ce0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Yesterday, a performance of Lucrezia Borgia was telecast in Europe (previously recorded during a July 6 performance). This Christof Loy production from the Bayerische Staatsoper features Edita Gruberova in her first staged Lucrezia, in the company of Pavol Breslik (Gennaro) and Alice Coote (Maffio Orsini). A selection of clips follows the jump.
The beloved soprano is at least 96 years old today. (Photo by Gjon Mili.)
La Cieca is simply beside herself to announce what she is confident will be both the biggest and most exciting parterre box competition of all time. This competition is called “Reading the Letter,” and it will test that most basic of opera queen skills, i.e., pretending to be a soprano. After the jump, La Cieca…
La Cieca’s friend and icon Dorothy Bishop showed up last night on America’s Got Talent!
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,…
What a gorgeous performance of “Vissi d’arte!” And was La Cieca surprised when she learned the name of the artist!
Denyce Graves — whatever happened to her? Well, for one thing, she has apparently married well. Yesterday the mezzo-soprano wed Robert Montgomery — not the 1940s film star, but rather the chief of transplant surgery at Johns Hopkins. (He’s the surgeon whose team pioneered the transplant technique of removing a donor’s kidney through her vagina.)…
Yma Sumac sings Queen of the Night, her way. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/s52AZdm8kVo” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
The fucking genius of Peter Gelb just opened a new and heretofore unexpected orifice. Encouraged by the success of the Met’s HD movie broadcasts, The National Theatre in London earlier this evening telecast its production of Phèdre starring Helen Mirren into 300 cinemas around the world. Photo by Catherine Ashmore. [One Cold Hand – NYC]
“Journalist, screenwriter and producer” Patricia Zohn gives San Francisco Opera’s Traviata a quick once-over over at Huffington Post. As may be expected, there’s little of depth in the post proper: “Vi makes mincemeat out of the heart of Alfredo, the scion of a wealthy family — and then compounds the debris by actually falling in…
The titian-tressed triller was born 106 years ago today in Philadelphia; appropriately, on Arch Street. Miss MacDonald is heard here in that great, great French grand opera Tsaritsa! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/a1rI8hcBgIw” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
The great mezzo-soprano and advocate for the arts is 96 today! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/pCYHALudt1k” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] (The video above is taken from one of Miss Stevens’ occasional appearances with The Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League under the auspices of Mrs. Ricky Ricardo.)
On tonight’s episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera, we hear the second act of Donizetti’s Belisario. But we won’t hear Leyla Gencer during this act, as her character remains offstage for the duration. However, La Cieca has added an extra act of Donizetti (with la Gencer onstage the whole time!) as bonus. Hear it after…
La Cieca presents with pride her latest installment of Unnatural Acts of Opera, the Donizetti rarity Belisario, featuring legendary Leyla Gencer as vengeful Roman matron Antonina.
La Cieca is always impressed when a veteran artist chooses, instead of resting on her considerable laurels, to expand upon her knowledge of the art of song. This is especially true when a true diva chooses to study at the knee of another diva, even though the latter diva is younger in years than the…
La Cieca’s old, old, old friend Dorothy Bishop launches a revised and heavily retouched version of her show “Sexy, Sassy and Starving!” at Joe’s Pub here in NYC on Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 PM. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Yr59Cke781M” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Meanwhile, in Zürich, Vesselina Kasarova stars in The Alessandra Marc Story. And in other “this diva/that diva” news, Tyne Daly is now doing a one-woman show on the life of Eileen Farrell.
Belated birthday greetings to Giulietta Simionato, still going strong at 99. The following video is from 1964, only two years before her retirement — after a career spanning almost four decades.
As La Cieca intones after the jump (in her newly-found inhuman manner) you can upload a photo (of your favorite diva or divo) and this online gizmo will animate it into a talking Star Trek character. At the end of the animation process, please choose “share” and then “email” so you can send your Trekkified…
La Cieca just returned from the HD of The Audition, a documentary about the 2007 Met National Council Auditions. The film puts her in an optimistic mood about the future of opera performance, or at any rate opera performers. Focus is on three young tenors who (spoiler) all end up winning the competition.
The offbeat 1976 Robert Altman film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson features divas Evelyn Lear and Noelle Rogers among the love interests of Paul Newman‘s eponymous Wild West showman. The complete movie is now available for viewing on
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