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.
A Baroque Valentine’s with Opera Lafayette | Feb | DC & NYC
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.
Per the Met’s press office, Erin Wall will make her house debut Met debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and will also sing the remaining performances of the season through the 24th. Wall replaces Barbara Frittoli, who will sing Donna Elvira instead, replacing Soile Isokoski, “who has withdrawn from the four performances due to…
Sempiternal Magda Olivero celebrated her 99th birthday earlier this week.
UPDATED YET ONCE MORE (March 26 at 5:00 pm): Per the Met’s press office, “Massimo Giordano will sing the role of Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore on March 31 and April 4 matinee, replacing Rolando Villazón, who is suffering from laryngitis.” UPDATED AGAIN (March 26 at 3:55 pm): Iréne Theorin will sing the first two matinees…
As we wish Joan Crawford a happy 101st (or 105th) birthday, La Cieca asks you to imagine what it might have been (pronounced “bean”) like if Our Lady of the Shoulders had continued her vocal studies with Rosa Ponselle. Not “Joan Crawford Sings Verdi” exactly, but, my goodness, that woman could certainly fill out an…
According to a press release from the Met, “René Pape has withdrawn from the Met’s 125th Anniversary Gala on Sunday, March 15, due to illness.”  The cancellation starts a daisy chain of cast reshuffling, so listen carefully: John Tomlinson will sing the Death Scene from Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, replacing Pape. James Morris will sing Wotan in…
Christine Brewer and Linda Watson will share the role of Brünnhilde in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in all performances at the Met this season. Lisa Gasteen was originally scheduled to sing Brünnhilde in the second and third cycles, but has withdrawn from the performances due to a back injury. Brewer will replace her in…
Patricia Racette takes over the remaining performances of Madama Butterfly this season (March 3 and 7) at the Met including the HD telecast, “replacing Cristina Gallardo-Domâs who is ill.”
La Cieca continues her salute to the diamond birthday of Renata Scotto with a new episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera. The podcast features the first act of La sonnambula as performed at the Teatro la Fenice on May 26, 1961. La sonnambula, act 1 Renata Scotto (Amina), Alfredo Kraus (Elivino), Ivo Vinco (Rodolfo), Rosa…
Excerpt from Madama Butterfly, 18 October 1974, San Francisco, CA. Cio-Cio-San: Renata Scotto; Suzuki: Judith Forst.
Let’s talk about chest: theories, recollections, examples, caveats… All about chest, in fact. To start the conversational ball rolling, here’s what some celebrated mid 20th century divas have to say about the subject of chest voice. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/j2hd_2m1qXE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Chest nut Charlie Handelman has so much to say on “voce di petto”…
La Cieca’s take on the Met’s new productions for 09-10: unless the Mary Zimmerman Armida turns into something very elaborate indeed, it looks like a return to the dreaded “empty box” syndrome of the 1990s. All the new productions are stripped down unit sets, even the Hoffmann. Not that there is anything fundamentally wrong with…
11:25: Connectivity restored. A quick catchup.
La Cieca has just heard a very soft whisper that there may be another cast change afoot for tomorrow’s HD telecast of Lucia from the Met.
In honor of tomorrow night’s role debut at the Met.
Piotr Beczala will sing Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor on Saturday, February 7 at 1:00 p.m. for the Met’s broadcast and HD telecast, replacing Rolando Villazón who is ill.
The glamorous soprano was born 90 years ago today, February 2, 1919. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/hGeCjq3uYX0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
The operatives were busy over the midnight hours: “Act 3 was a mixed bag. The opening showed Villazon in much better form, with solid phrasing. The Mad Scene started out beautiful, Netrebko spinning out haunting legato. She was completely involved and engaged. Then she fell apart at the flute solo, sounding under supported and wavering…
UPDATE: And now the reactions to Act 2: “Villazon continued to struggle. Pushed upper register and passaggio. High notes he seems to accomplish (or in some cases misses) by sheer will of force. Aside from a beautiful legato in the sextet, his voice is very worrisome. Netrebko has bloomed in this act, acuti seemingly in…
La Cieca hears that tonight’s Lucia at the Met will be the criterion for deciding whether one or both of the leads might be replaced for the final two performances of the run including the HD telecast February 7. La Cieca, alas, cannot be in the theater tonight, drat that pesky root canal, so she…
La Cieca has obtained some exclusive footage from the first camera rehearsal for the upcoming HD telecast of Lucia di Lammermoor from the Met. Extra rehearsals, she hears, have already been called! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/6Wg04e24UPc” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
To finish the run of Lucia, including the HD. Just a guess, mind you.
All the way from exotic Portland, Operaman writes: Yesterday I attended the Met HD transmission of Orfeo ed Euridice and, once I have told you my reactions and feelings about this show, I cannot wait to hear what members of your cher public who saw or heard it have to say about it. And I…
Since there’s nothing new on Sirius, no HD telecast, or a new Unnatural Acts of Opera tonight, La Cieca thought we might revisit the golden age of two decades ago for a classic performance of The Dentist of Seville. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/Yqj8GcTPfhY” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
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.
