Prêtre a manger
parterre box serves up an amuse-bouche of Natalie Dessay as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd in Strasbourg!
natalie dessay
Avant de quitter la scène
As of late, the Bay Area has been blessed with a few high-wattage, high-profile recitals as if to compensate for the chilly temperatures and gloomy weather. Roughly a month after Lise Davidsen made an ebullient debut at Cal Performances, the Bay Area welcomed French soprano Natalie Dessay last Saturday.
It has become that time of evening
Ahead of Natalie Dessay‘s adieu to classical music and upcoming American turn, parterre box offers a sample of her in Gounod‘s “Jewel Song” recorded just last year.
And that concludes my entire performance in French
Natalie Dessay debuts as Madam Rose in Paris in 2025
Monster recital sacré
“Pèlerin Deslieux had arrived to escort her to Carnegie Hall. They would walk over together. ‘There’s a queue from here to there!’ he told her.”
Against the grain
I wondered if there truly is a future for opera other than as an overpriced museum piece for an aging audience who likes their sets lavish, their productions non-challenging, and their singers telegenic.
Apparition
There was a moment during Natalie Dessay’s performance of Schubert’s “Gretchen am Spinnrade” when the singer summoned the ghost of her former self.
Soreness and burning
“Ms. Fleming, 58, and Ms. Dessay, 52, faced the same problem over the past decade or so.”
It gives her purpose, gives her voice
Here the first video of Natalie Dessay in Sondheim’s Passion at the Théâtre du Châtelet.
Not pretty or safe or easy
La Cieca hears that the Théâtre du Châtelet will continue its series of Stephen Sondheim productions with Passion, set to star Natalie Dessay (as Fosca, bien sûr!)
Regni Dessay
Almost exactly twenty years after her auspicious Metropolitan Opera debut as the Fiakermilli in Arabella and a year following what she has claims was her final appearance on the operatic stage, Natalie Dessay returned Sunday afternoon to Lincoln Center—to sing opera.
Chantons sous la pluie
Walking away from Theatre Châtelet this afternoon, I felt as though my relationship with France and its notoriously perplexing people and culture had at long last reached some degree of depth.
La place des étoiles
Starting in less than half an hour, “Le Concert de Paris.”
Song of the lark
Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin presents Natalie Dessay in recital.
The butterfly effect
Midway through the first portion of this past Wednesday’s New York City recital debut of Mme. Natalie Dessay I became very distracted by the persistent urge to try to characterize the experience of what was happening on stage, for this was, by no means, an ordinary recital and no ordinary debutante.
Le jazz tiède
The crossover album: a hint that that an artist has either exhausted all the repertory at her command and owes her record label a new release or that her waning vocal resources really shouldn’t be taxed much further than an octave.
La nuit d’une étoile
“American tenor Matthew Polenzani sings the title role opposite Natalie Dessay as Antonia, Christian Van Horn as the four villains, Angela Brower as Nicklausse, Hye Jung Lee as Olympia, Irene Roberts as Giulietta and Jacqueline Piccolino as Stella.”
L’art du hipster
The reinvention of Verdi’s masterpiece, La Traviata, as sung by world-famous French coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay, is the subject of Philippe Béziat’s thrilling new movie.
Driving Miss Dessay
Always front and center with a vote of confidence, Peter Gelb told the New York Times, “Natalie is one of the great artists, but she also is somewhat fragile.”
Nile, be seeing you
“Danielle de Niese will sing the role of Cleopatra in this evening’s performance of Handel’s Giulio Cesare, replacing Natalie Dessay, who is ill.”
Carry on Cleo
Natalie Dessay coyly bares a breast on the cover of Virgin Classics’ new Giulio Cesare.
Our retrospection will now be all to the future
La Cieca predicts you won’t be seeing any puritans at the Met next season, except of course for the ones who slouch around during intermission hissing, “You call that a trill?”
Il le faut, il le faut
Due to health reasons, Natalie Dessay has withdrawn from the performances of Massenet’s Manon.
La tisi non le accorda che poche rappresentazioni
Here’s something you can hardly call news, because it’s an old story everyone expected to happen anyway.
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).
