Michael Grandage’s production of Don Giovanni for the Metropolitan Opera is possibly the worst production I’ve ever seen at the house. It represents the very nadir of conservatism. Neither rudely provocative nor richly traditional, its listless laziness snuffs out the opera’s incendiary potential. It is startlingly unimaginative, managing, in its ineptitude, the rare achievement of insulting western culture. Read more »
“If Mozart had only had the sense to write Don Giovanni in a… single-performer format, last Wednesday’s revival at the Met would have been one for the ages.” [New York Observer]
Photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
One startling upset catches the eye among the many winners (if that is the word) of the 2013 Parterre Box Awards. Read more »
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La Cieca predicts you will be seeing more of the same old puritans at the Met next season, and she’s not just talking about the ones who slouch around during intermission hissing, “You call that a trill?” But uou will also see six new productions (including a Met premiere of a 21st century work) and the local debut of one of opera’s most controversial stage directors. Read more »
Separated at birth seducers “The Duelling Dons” demonstrate what the aristocratic redneck of the XVIII century will be wearing.
Tonight’s the night, cher public: the prima of the Met’s new Don Giovanni, conducted by fabulous Fabio Luisi and featuring that leading candidate for Einspringer of the Year, Peter Mattei. The fun begins at 7:30, both on Sirius/XM and on the Met’s Live Stream, and the effete will want to sharpen their knives in anticipation of the chat at La Casa della Cieca.
Cher Public