postcards from the regie

Okay, okay, La Cieca admits that this photo is not from an opera production. (In fact, it’s a scene from the new Cirque du Soleil show opening soon in New York.) However, if this were a scene from a Regie opera production, what opera would it be? As Leontyne Price reported that Richard Tucker used…

o ruddier than the regie

Well deducted, various members of the cher public, for indeed the most recent Regie quiz depicted a production of Charpentier’s Louise (as envisioned by Christof Loy for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.) And what grisly work might this be? (Photos after the jump)

ich steh’ im regie und warte auf dich

And a very strange Regie our last Regie quiz was, but several of you worked out that the opera was Eugene Onegin, in Achim Freyer‘s new production at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin. And now, cher public, can you name this obviously girly opera? (Remember, if you recognize the production, QUIET — let others…

the regie of the greasepaint

Congratulations Baritenor for the fastest Regie guess in history: in less than 13 minutes he correctly identified the opera was indeed Turandot. Let’s see how long it takes to come up with a title for this week’s Regie puzzler. Remember, everyone, if you’ve seen the production, reviews or photos, disqualify yourself while others play.

battle of the bulges

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/7HMCZ589eKc” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] “WHAT in GAY hell was jumping around him?” exclaims a puzzled YouTube fan, and La Cieca agrees that even the gifted Stephen Costello seems nonplussed by, well, all that gay hell. (This clip is from a recent Rigoletto performance.)

hi-res regie

Some very interesting responses to our previous Regie quiz included a correct one from Melot’s Younger Brother. The opera was indeed Król Roger, a fascinating work which (in audio form) will soon grace Unnatural Acts of Opera. Now, cher public, it’s up to you to decide whether our puzzler this week is the sort of…

regie dodger

The winner of our non-traditional Regie quiz is Graciella Scusi for her clever interpretation of the scenes depicted as moments from Candide. La Cieca was particularly amused by the notion of the Old Lady’s doing a variation on “Find Me a Primitive Man.” The work was, of course, not Candide at all, but rather the…

puppy on a hot tin roof

La Cieca cannot help losing her heart to a stage director who compares Berg’s Lulu to “early Elizabeth Taylor,” particularly when the regisseur in question is puppylicious Paul Curran. (In this video he’s introducing the opera for his new production at Lyric Opera of Chicago opening in November.) [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/4ebzoFHR8V8″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

regie revisited

Cher public, you are getting too clever for this old doyenne. On our most recent Regie quiz, which La Cieca considered so curiously designed as to be unrecognizable, fully half a dozen of you guessed correctly that the opera was La traviata. Cocky Kurwenal was first, but stagelefty also managed to pinpoint the director, Achim…

mild mannered

“Clark Kent stole the show but there is nothing wrong with that!” A review of Jonas Kaufmann‘s nerdy take on Don José (in a Zurich production of Carmen) on a very interesting blog just introduced to La Cieca, Opera is magic!

wagner family reacts to wagner news at wagner festival

According to a statement on the Bayreuth website, stepsisters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier will take over the Festspiele from their father Wolfgang Wagner, who is retiring after more than half a century at the helm of the festival. Members of the “Wieland” branch of the Wagner family tree are, of course, furious at this…

la fille du regie

La Cieca can’t put anything past Tamerlano, who guessed the answer to our previous Regie quiz almost immediately: it was indeed Ariadne auf Naxos. And now, with a reminder to all that this is a guessing game, no blurting out the answers if you recognize the production, here’s out next quiz (right after the jump): 

got a regie in your pocket

Our previous Regie quiz depicted (as Nerva Nelli so quickly guessed) Verdi’s Aida, in a production by Christopher Alden for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. And now, cher public, our weekly edition of Name that Regie. Remember, if you have seen the production or otherwise recognize the photos, please remain silent while others guess the answer!

sein wir wieder coot

That bloggeress La Cieca likes to think of as “like a young me,” OperaChic, is currently and brilliantly following up on the controversy sparked by Lorin Maazel‘s grumpy condemnation of those darn newfangled stage directors who won’t get out of his yard. Consarn it. Joining Maazel in tying an onion to his belt is the…

regie, plain and tall

Many of you guessed the solution already, but here’s the trailer from the most recent Regie quiz, this time with its soundtrack restored.

home team

RogerEvansOnline reports that George Steel, executive director of Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, will be the new general director of the Dallas Opera. La Cieca would like to take a moment to recognize the “man bites dog” novelty angle of this story: Steel is not British.

legit canary ankles smalltime

According to Variety, America’s Soprano Renée Fleming is poised to conquer new worlds of entertainment. Not content to rest on her laurels as diva, scent entrepreneur, dessert namesake and single working mother, Fleming has signed with talent agency Paradigm who promise to “scout out opportunities in thesping, endorsement, publishing and digital media” for the artist “with the…

rastlose regie

La Cieca’s toughest Regie quiz so far baffled even the cleverest of the cher public. Admittedly it was not exactly a warhorse, but the title should be recognizable enough: Chabrier’s L’etoile. To atone for this perhaps overdone obfuscation, your doyenne offers a special treat this week. It’s a video trailer for an opera, stripped of…

regie in 60 seconds

Tamerlano didn’t sound any too confident, but the answer to last week’s Regie quiz was indeed Das Liebesverbot, the early Wagner rarity recently revived at Glimmerglass in a staging by Nicholas Muni. (The photos are by Cory Weaver for Glimmerglass Opera.)  The very male Ryan MacPherson is heard and seen as Luzio in a scene…

is that a gun in your regie, or are you just glad to see me?

Since the new Bayreuth Parsifal was so easily recognizable and the all barechested barihunk all the time Don Giovanni from Salzburg not particularly challenging, La Cieca offers a bonus Regie quiz for the first week of August. Blurting out the answer (as in “I saw this production last week: it’s [title]” or “I saw these…

thy sweet voice

Well, NachtundTraume buzzed in first with all eight names in the correct order for the “Mon coeur” quiz. Since this week’s Regie seems already to be a wash as a guessing game, La Cieca will try to keep you entertained with yet another performance of the celebrated selection from Samson et Dalila. Can you identify…

return of the regie

You can’t get anything past Our Own tannengrin, who almost immediately identified Simon Boccanegra as the subject of the most recent Regie quiz. 

meat and two regie

That deucedly clever Bridget Jones was the first to guess the correct title for our previous Regie puzzler: Cavalli’s La Calisto it was! So now let’s all put on our thinking caps and decide which opera this might be: A REMINDER: if you have seen this production, please don’t blurt it out: the point of…

regie for my closeup

Cher public, you very nearly let La Cieca down with your guesses on last week’s Regie quiz. Until neiln007 rode to the last-minute rescue, nobody recognized Les Troyens among the white pantsuits and grand pianos. (The production, by the way, is from Stuttgart and directed by Joachim Schlömer.) And now, let’s take a look at…