I hate it when this happens. Rosenkavalier Duet
People often come up to me and say, La Cieca, “Who do you think will be the next Renée Fleming?” Well, all, right, that doesn’t actually happen often, or even rarely. In fact, it doesn’t happen at all. But be that as it may, La Cieca has found “the next Renée Fleming,” or at least…
An old clip, from 2005 in fact, but oddly prescient, perhaps. Who knew that Les vêpres siciliennes could sound so much like Verismo? Not the Greatest of E’s (Don’t thank La Cieca; this stunner was sent in by Our Own Kernita Makilla.)
La Cieca figures if Adelaida Negri can make a comeback, so can your doyenne.
Of course, there were also setbacks along the road to success. During a performance of “La Traviata” in Genoa conducted by Bonynge, the audience roundly booed tenor Lamberto Furlan to the point that the conductor and his wife, who had personally picked Furlan for the role, left the stage and refused to complete the performance.…
Some songs just steadfastly repel the crossover treatment. Some years ago Karita Mattila came to grief on “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” and now Anne Sofie von Otter doesn’t do much better. (Why does it always sound like they coached this number with The Opera Milf?)
“You will forgive me my poor dramatic skills. I have only been performing the role of Violetta for six years!”
Live, from “The Concerthall of Hoorn,” which sounds like a performance venue somewhere in Middle Earth, it’s the return of The Family Pondman! This time Walther and Lonne do a Siegmund/Sieglinde variation on the first act of La bohème.
What could say “Paris in the spring” more eloquently than this musical offering: Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées 06/14/2009 Kurt Weill : Die Dreigroschenoper Ian Bostridge (Macheath)… Oh, sorry, forget I said anything! Oh, the shark has Teeth like razors And a massive Overbite…
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…
“Miss Susan Alexander, a pretty but hopelessly incompetent amateur, last night opened the new Chicago Opera House in a performance of… (I still can’t pronounce that name, Mr. Kane.) Her singing, happily, is no concern of this department. Of her acting, it is absolutely impossible to say anything except that it represents a new low,…
Vesselina Kasarova is dipping her oar into dramatic mezzo waters, and, well, it’s not exactly smooth sailing. (Thanks, tamerlano, for unearthing this clip!) [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/rF1lnvkrRFY” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Natalie Dessay crosses over with Michel Legrand. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/x7VyXKAvNV0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] This clip is one of a number of “Perle Nere” selections (including some classic filth) to be found on YouTube channel The Cucumber Masked. (For the record, your doyenne will state that she thinks the inclusion of Rolando Villazón material at this…
The world’s newest cult diva returns! Amira Kamel, first Egyptian ever to sing Aida (it says so on YouTube and so it must be true!) adopts for her “barbaric” drag not only the coiffure, maquillage and plastique of legendary Vera Galupe-Borszkh, but seem to have borrowed one of La Dementia’s caftans as well! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/zl51vG-a1F8″…
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/4yi5PBCDdjI” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] “Norma vista dal suggeritore” is one of several brilliant videos on the YouTube channel lucavi58.
Con sottotitoli!
Angel Taormina is back and she’s remixed!
or, “The Art of Can’t Canto.” [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/wk84Niba5Fo” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Despite rave reviews for her recent “comeback” show at the Palace, vocal problems continue to plague legendary songstress Liza Minnelli.
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/5ZNQQxFUHw0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] “The Family Pondman sings with the well-known Dutch Opera-singer Margaret Roest on request of our father, study colleague of her, spontaniously the Terzett from I Lombardi…”
Presenting The Family Pondman. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/xh5TzgSJNvM” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] More about The Family Pondman, including the answer to the inevitable question, “Wha…?” may be found on their eponymous website.
Something about the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto seems to bring out the most extreme behavior in mezzo-sopranos, whether it’s the Brainfart of Herta Glaz or the celebrated Woman on the Verge of a Wardrobe Misfunction corsetry of Isola Jones. But the award for Most Hairpieces Ever Worn at the Same Time must surely go…
The genre-defying art of Florence Foster Jenkins is reborn in her namesake, Katherine. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/XFVhHL75PQg” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
In case you missed Friday night’s debacle.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
