Cheers, thanks a lot!
Congratulations to America’s Diva Renée Fleming, starring in the world premiere of Henri Dutilleux‘s opera buffa Absolutely Fabulous.
la scoopenda
Rodelinda, regina del primo piano
I half-wanted to dislike it; my expectations were very low. Renée Fleming in the Baroque, after her very uncertain recent outings in bel canto! Let’s face it; this year, her Rossini (Armida) and Donizetti (Lucrezia Borgia) did not cover her in glory. How, at this HD relay on December 3, would she cope with Handel’s […]
Unchained chat
The Handelian hilarity begins in just half an hour, cher public, so tune in to the Met’s Listen Live page and find your place in the parlor of La Casa della Cieca.
Oud’s that woman?
Ever wonder why a free press is the cornerstone of any representative democracy? Wonder no more: “MUSCAT: Renée Fleming is called the People’s Diva for a reason. She doesn’t have any airs, and her engaging charm works its way into the hearts of anyone who sees her sing.” And it only gets more fulsome. [Times […]
Sun turns black as sackcloth; moon red as blood
“On Thursday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall, the Carnegie Hall Notables—a membership and ticket program for music enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s—will host Love Letters, a performance of contemporary American playwright A. R. Gurney’s work. Celebrated soprano Renée Fleming and award-winning actor Alec Baldwin will perform the piece as directed by […]
Una soave immagine me n’ho formato in petto
Here, on what appears to have been a rather chilly evening, are Michael Fabiano and his “mom” Renée Fleming in Die Walküre Lucrezia Borgia at the San Francisco Opera.
Mad woman
“The People’s Diva,” “America’s Soprano,” “The Beautiful Voice, ” “la Grace Kelly della lirica”—in her busy and seemingly interminable career Renée Fleming has worn almost as many hats as hair colors. But henceforth she must also be known as “The Peggy Olson of the Windy City” thanks to her inestimable leadership in crafting Lyric Opera […]
Madonna col Figlio
Michael Fabiano and Renée Fleming (pictured, left to right) make up the somewhat dysfunctional family whose drama is recounted in the San Francisco Opera premiere of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, to be heard September 23 – October 11. More highlights (and a lowlight or two) follow the jump.
“We need more green markers”
“Opera star Renee Fleming came to Manhattan’s Grand Ballroom to record her vocals for Steven Spielberg’s new animated feature Tintin. Singing live with a 69 piece orchestra, Ms. Fleming was also filmed for motion caption. To ensure her animated character reflected all of her natural facial expressions they place green markers on Ms. Fleming’s face.” […]
Right the first time
“In an April 9 story about tenor Juan Diego Florez helping deliver his baby minutes before singing in the Metropolitan Opera production of Le Comte Ory, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the soprano starring in the broadcast was Renee Fleming. The singer was Diana Damrau. Fleming was the host.” [AP]
Put a chat on it
La Cieca (pictured, left) invites all the single cher public to join in circa 1:00 pm for a discussion of this afternoon’s absolutely last and final performance of Armida. Ever.
Witch way out
The definitive evidence that the Met was far too wildly optimistic when scheduling Armida.
Happy Birthday Renee Fleming
“The People’s Diva,” who brought so much darkness and so much hope to us in 2010, is 52 years young today!
Doink doink!
La Scoopenda meets Detective Stabler when The People’s Diva Renée Fleming appears on a very special episode of Law & Order: SVU. La Fleming will play a supporting role in the “Bully” episode which stars Kate Burton “as a wicked boss whose business partner is murdered.”
Mutually assured admiration
Paint La Cieca astonished that Renée Fleming and Lorna Luft volley back and forth the compliment “You open your mouth and that noise comes out. How do you do that?” No, you! No, you! [In the Noh]
Like she was a play or a book or a set of blueprints
So stop me if you’ve heard this one: a, shall we say, mature diva gets stranded in the snow, and in her place a substitute (carefully hidden, no doubt!) gives a performance! Out of nowhere – gives a performance! Well, according to Intermezzo, life imitated art (and what better art to imitate than All About Eve?) […]
The Creation
Here’s that announcement you’ve been waiting for! The Board of Directors of Lyric Opera of Chicago announced today that soprano Renée Fleming has been named Creative Consultant, a first in this company’s history. Simultaneously, she and Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric’s music director, have been elected to the Board of Directors as Vice-Presidents. Ms. Fleming’s appointment as […]
The lady of the lake
La Cieca has been alerted to be on the lookout later this afternoon for an announcement that Renée Fleming will take on an important administrative position at Lyric Opera of Chicago. It’s not precisely “directa,” but something more comparable to Placido Domingo‘s erstwhile post at Washington National Opera. Anyway, by this afternoon we’ll have a clearer […]
Nerve center
“Il più amato, il più osannato, il solo e unico varietà operistico radiofonico quotidiano,” or, as we call it, La Barcaccia, examined earlier this week “Donne sull’orlo di una crisi di nervi.” The divas on a verge of a nervous breakdown include Cecilia Bartoli and our own Renée Fleming in a (though not the) legendary […]
Fleming, flack finished!
“After a 15-year collaboration that catapulted Renée Fleming from just another plush-voiced soprano to a glamorous, genre-crossing household name, the singer is parting ways with legendary publicist Mary Lou Falcone.” [New York Observer]
Think ’til your brain madly whirls
La Cieca hears that Renée Fleming will yet again grace the stage of the Metropolitan with a new role in 2015. The production will be staged by Susan Stroman.
La Cieca thrilled with belated birthday gift
“Three-time Grammy winner Rene’e Fleming is beloved by classical and opera fans around the world [ça va sans dire], but the superstar soprano has also earned the admiration of a new generation of singers and songwriters …. “
Star-spangled girl
The birthday of our nation provides yet one more opportunity for “America’s Diva” Renée Fleming to demonstrate that she is indeed the Patti of our day. No, not Adelina so much, more like Sandi.
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
