Prelude to the Quantification of the Diva
La Cieca is delighted to announce a week-long series of investigative reports deciding once and for all the question “Who is the greatest opera diva of our generation?”
mattila
The People’s Courtesan
Like Liza Minnelli at the Palace or Nomi Malone in Goddess, Renée Fleming‘s Thaïs is better understood as diva event than Gesamtkunstwerk. It’s an opportunity to watch a star lady do her voodoo in a work that exists largely to showcase her glamour and appeal.
Kiss me deadly
La Cieca is just guessing here (with some prompting from Zachary Woolfe) but she thinks she has divined the coup de théâtre climaxing the Met’s new production of Tosca. They shoot Mario, etc. etc., and then Karita Mattila runs crazily off the stage as the guards come rushing on. They search all about but cannot find […]
All fall down
Our Own JJ (not pictured) nominates the can’t-miss operatic and vocal events of the autumn of 2009. [NYP]
curtain up, light the headlights
Or, “Tosca è un buon funbag!”
“her bosom heaves, her cheeks are staring scarlet”
Sharp-eyed reader Sadie Salome writes: It seems I was the only one spent much of last night’s letter scene peering through her binoculars at Karita Mattila‘s fine acting, because I see no report on your site of last night’s mishap (and if it isn’t on your site, then it obviously hasn’t been reported anywhere!) As you […]
future tense
11:25: Connectivity restored. A quick catchup.
afternoon delight
Karita Mattila in the HD telecast of Salome starts here in New York on Channel 13 in ten minutes. DVRs set?
if ever i would leave you
Got to give credit to Bryn Terfel: he’s now canceling a whole season in advance. The bass-baritone scrapped his spring 2009 appearance in the Met’s L’elisir d’amore several months ago, and now he’s pulled out of the company’s 2009 opening night, a new production of Tosca that now stars Karita Mattila and Marcelo Alvarez. The […]
pubic domain
La Cieca has managed to obtain a few fragments of the camera rehearsal for Saturday afternoon’s Salome HD telecast. Note the cutting-edge video techniques employed to distract the (presumably) pre-adolescent audience from Karita’s Kooter of Kontroversy. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/UdWjLz5NY-E” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
rebel without a cooze
Although the staging of the Met’s Saturday afternoon’s production of Salome will remain unchanged (i.e., Karita Mattila intends to jam out with her clam out) the HD cameras will demurely divert their lenses at the climactic moment of the Dance of the Seven Veils. According to Culture Monster, instead of the Full Mattila, the video […]
salome (met) 9/23/2008
I was there in the house and it was a good night. I still think that Mattila and the production were fresher in 2004 with a wider range of colors and dynamics. However, she didn’t sound frayed or at the end of her rope. Some of the louder high notes can get a blanched quality […]
we are all interested in the future
… for (as the saying goes) “that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives.” Well, when La Cieca reflects upon where she’s going to spend the rest of her life, the first place she turns to is Bradley Wilber‘s MetManiac. So you can imagine your doyenne’s deep relief […]
life, universal and everything
As La Cieca first reported back in March, Jeffrey Vanderveen, recently split from IMG, will now head up Universal Music Classical Artists Management and Productions, a division “meant to provide management services for and produce live events for prominent classical musicians.” IMG has responded by filing filed suit against Vanderveen and other Universal honchos, claiming […]
out there in the dark
La Cieca is putting her entire nest egg into popcorn futures, since next season opera lovers will rarely emerge from their local movie palace. The Met will do an astonishing 11 HD simulcasts during the 2008-2009 season. Monday, September 22, 2008: Opening Night Gala starring the astonishingly well-preserved Renée Fleming in fully staged performances of La Traviata (Act […]
season scorecard
Cher public, the Met is expected to unveil the specifics of their 2008-2009 season later today. While we’re waiting for all the luscious and/or gory details, La Cieca thought it might be fun to do a quick recap of the season as is is predicted on Brad Wilber‘s MetManiac site. Brad (who historically is spot-on […]
low hanging fruit
As a followup to Karita Mattila‘s banana-themed halftime show during Manon Lescaut, La Cieca salutes bass-baritone Paul Whelan. The Armani-clad singer credits a favorite potassium-rich fruit (sometimes called “nature’s amphetamine”) for his well-publicized “rescue” of the English National Opera’s recent Lucy of the Lammermoors (or whatever it is they call it in English). Of course, […]
make like a banana
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mud will be flung…
… 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 […]
Tough guy
Joseph Volpe‘s memoir The Toughest Show on Earth (see, La Cieca can get the title right when she wants too) is a book about a working-class kid from Queens who wanted to be Rudolf Bing when he grew up. Or, rather, it’s about a stage carpenter who was bright enough and ambitious enough to do […]
I could go on singing ’til the cows come home
La Cieca has just learned the scheduled roster and repertoire for the Volpe Farewell Gala to be performed on Saturday, May 20 (and, if all this music stays in the show, part of May 21 as well.) Deborah Voigt will open the program with special material by Ben Moore, accompanied by Brian Zeger. The first […]
You’re going out a youngster but I’ve got to come back a star!
Like many of you, La Cieca was a little surprised at the blitz of publicity attendant upon the Met debut of Erika Sunnegardh last Saturday afternoon. A front-page feature in the New York Times, and then, a few days later, a followup article with photographs taken in the soprano’s dressing room. But did you notice […]
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen
La Cieca has just learned that Erika Sunnegardh will sing tomorrow’s Fidelio broadcast, replacing Karita Mattila, who is under the weather.
Previewing the Gelb era
La Cieca, ear to ground as always, has picked up some reliable-sounding scuttlebutt about the incoming Peter Gelb regime at the Met. The first decade will probably be known as “All Villazon All the Time” since (per our source), Rolando Villazon has inked a pledge to sing two operas a year at the Met for […]
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).
