[Our Own Gualtier Maldè reports from this afternoon’s dress rehearsal of La Fille du Régiment] The Met has another hit on its hands — though not a totally new one, this production and cast already having triumphed at Covent Garden and the Vienna Staatsoper. Laurent Pelly (who vies with Davide Alagna and Mark Streshinsky as…

By on April 18, 2008 at 5:32 PM
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La Cieca sheepishly announces the long-overdue return of Unnatural Acts of Opera and a very belated birthday greeting. Tristan und Isolde, Act 2

By on April 15, 2008 at 10:06 PM
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The legendary diva celebrates her 75th birthday today. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-2989150895689621204″ width=”400″ height=”326″ wmode=”transparent” /]

By on April 12, 2008 at 8:55 PM
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The most official-looking word La Cieca can find on Saturday afternoon’s Tristan HD adventure is here — and so, it seems, she was half right: Robert Dean Smith will sing the one performance, but only the one. Now, this was just an instinct before the online evidence was presented to her, but your doyenne was…

By on March 18, 2008 at 7:02 PM
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As your doyenne predicted yesterday, tenor Gary Lehman will sing tomorrow night’s Met performance of Tristan und Isolde, making his company and role debuts!  La Cieca hears from an authoritative source that Lehman will also Robert Dean Smith will be released from concerts in Milan and Luxembourg so he can sing the role opposite Deborah…

By on March 13, 2008 at 4:32 PM
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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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The author, now viewed as an early feminist, based the plot on her own difficult experience with postpartum depression, which was then diagnosed as a nervous disorder curable only by a long period of bed rest, over-feeding and withdrawal from the world of family and friends. The character in the opera ends up going mad…

By on February 15, 2008 at 1:00 PM
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… well, not tonight, actually, but on Saturday afternoon, when La Cieca once more will convene the faithful for a live chat on the topic of the Met broadcast of Manon Lescaut. Now, honestly cher public, how was La Cieca to resist? You’ve already read Our Own JJ‘s reaction to the performances of Karita Mattila…

By on February 14, 2008 at 7:31 PM
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Before La Cieca departs on holiday from her podcasting duties, allow her to introduce The Podderdammerung Page. Once again, La Cieca scoops the universe: here on parterre.com you can now listen to (or download) the entire Ring cycle, as featured on this month’s Unnatural Acts of Opera. What sort of Ring will you hear there?…

By on June 24, 2006 at 5:24 AM
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UPDATE: the podcast of Das Rheingold is now online! La Cieca is delighted and not a little bit frightened to announce that Unnatural Acts of Opera will present the first-ever podcast of Wagner’s tetraology Der Ring des Nibelungen beginning Friday, June 2 and continuing through the last weekend of the month. The series will consist…

By on June 03, 2006 at 1:18 AM
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For your Sills-related listening enjoyment today, this collection of Bubblecasts. And here’s Our Beverly singing Zerbinetta — the hard way.(As seen at Beverly Sills Online. From YouTube, target=”new”>Beverly Sills on Video.

By on May 25, 2006 at 2:02 PM
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To salute the American spinto soprano, an assortment of podcasts from Ed Rosen, Charles Handelman and yours truly. Just click on the “play” button and turn up your speakers!

By on April 14, 2006 at 2:58 PM
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La Cieca wishes a very happy 80th birthday to Evelyn Lear, heard recently on Unnatural Acts of Opera singing “The Boy from Ipanema.” Another sample of her vast range of artistry can be found here, in her performance of the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin at the San Francisco Opera in October 1971.

By on January 08, 2006 at 6:19 PM
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Twelve years — a quarter of my life! That’s how long I’ve been La Cieca, or, more accurately, that’s how long parterre box has been a part of my life. The lady over there on the right is the reason this all began: Maria Callas, for whose 70th birthday (December 3, 1993) I though it…

By on December 03, 2005 at 7:55 PM
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Today is the “birthday” of Billy Budd, the 54th anniversary of the premiere of the Benjamin Britten opera. To mark the occasion, the popular (?) podcast featurette “The Enigmas of La Cieca” goes international next week when a lucky listener to “Unnatural Acts of Opera” will win a pair of prime seats to the English…

By on December 01, 2005 at 3:16 PM
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To mark the 70th birthday (and rumored retirement) of Luciano Pavarotti, “Unnatural Acts of Opera” presents a performance from the tenor’s pre-superstar period. It’s La boheme opposite Mirella Freni, with Thomas Schippers conducting, as broadcast on RAI (Rome) on July 17, 1969. After the acts, it’s even more of the Pav, singing scenes from I…

By on October 16, 2005 at 2:55 AM
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