Von Kopf bis Fuss Von Kopf bis Fuss

La Cieca is happy to present the following readymade blind item.

on September 21, 2013 at 11:33 AM
Pushkin comes to shove Pushkin comes to shove

Onegin, which opens the Met’s season on Monday, has taken an unusually precipitous tumble…

on September 19, 2013 at 10:32 AM
No one who speaks German could be an evil man No one who speaks German could be an evil man

If Frank Castorf‘s work on Der Ring des Nibelungen at Bayreuth accomplishes nothing else, it should serve as a sort of loud disorganized reminder of the dangers of indulging in the intentional fallacy.

on September 02, 2013 at 10:33 AM
What a day for an auto-da-fé What a day for an auto-da-fé

Teresa Berganza is the latest superannuated superstar to jump on the “I hate regie” bandwagon.

on August 30, 2013 at 4:04 AM
Ring?  What ring? Ring?  What ring?

All right, I admit it; I finally broke down and read the program notes for the Ring in the Bayreuth program book.

on August 29, 2013 at 10:19 PM
High concept High concept

Well, my dears, if you thought Frank Castorf‘s Ring or Stefan Herheim‘s Meistersinger were outré, then wait until you get a load of the radical take on Don Carlos by Peter Stein for the Salzburg Festival!

on August 08, 2013 at 7:31 PM
Get your kicks on Route Sechsundsechzig Get your kicks on Route Sechsundsechzig

Revealed: first images of Frank Castorf‘s production of the Ring, launching Friday at Bayreuth.

on July 23, 2013 at 5:26 PM
Nacht und Träume Nacht und Träume

We waited eagerly to hear the Munich-born Jonas Kaufmann make his role debut as Manrico at the Bavarian State Opera as well the German-Greek soprano Anja Harteros take on Leonora’s bravura difficult arias.

on July 06, 2013 at 11:30 AM
She sang a mouthful She sang a mouthful

Soprano Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs sings the final scene from Salome in the Stefan Herheim production for Den Norske Opera.

on June 27, 2013 at 2:23 PM
Clichés Grip City Clichés Grip City

La Cieca supposes she shouldn’t complain: the more time Lorin Maazel spends on Facebook, the less time he spends conducting Don Carlo.

on June 17, 2013 at 11:35 PM
O Engländer! Seid ihr nicht Toren… O Engländer! Seid ihr nicht Toren…

As she herself points out, Zerbinetta is perhaps the first woman besides “the inimitable Heather MacDonald” to write a serious critique of Calixto Bieito‘s production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

on June 05, 2013 at 12:58 PM
Spanish panic Spanish panic

Here’s a glimpse of the Regie route Anna Netrebko and Placido Domingo will go in November when they make their role debuts in Il trovatore at the Berlin Staatsoper.

on June 01, 2013 at 5:45 PM
The Grand “Gatsby” The Grand “Gatsby”

La Cieca doesn’t branch out into The Film very often (even though she is quite the ardent cinephile) but the recent release—or, at any rate, the reaction to the recent release—of Baz Luhrmann‘s film of The Great Gatsby served to crystallize a few ideas bubbling about in your doyenne’s brain.

on May 30, 2013 at 4:11 PM
Ancient German virtue of bravery gone missing Ancient German virtue of bravery gone missing

In a press release, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein at Düsseldorf has announced the cancellation of its controversial new production of Tannhäuser.

on May 08, 2013 at 12:47 PM
Cover to cover Cover to cover

La Cieca (pictured) is thrilled to announce the debut of a new online book club hosted by Norman Lebrecht of “Slipped Disc” fame.

on May 07, 2013 at 10:31 AM
Spin cycle Spin cycle

Your Wagnerian alternatives for today’s chat in La Casa della Cieca

on April 20, 2013 at 4:22 AM
A Waltz Dream A Waltz Dream

Two time Oscar winner and Quentin Tarantino muse Christoph Waltz is branching out into opera direction.

on April 17, 2013 at 2:16 PM
Book club Book club

La Cieca hears that the opening night of La Scala’s 2013 season will feature a new production of La traviata starring Diana Damrau and Piotr Beczala, directed by… no, not Franco Zeffirelli, but Dmitri Tcherniakov.

on April 06, 2013 at 3:32 AM
Just a little touch of tsar quality Just a little touch of tsar quality

The gripping Calixto Bieito/Kent Nagano production of Boris Godunov from the Bayerische Staatsoper—with authoritative Alexander Tsymbalyuk in the title role…

on April 03, 2013 at 11:33 AM
Un soggetto dell’epoca Un soggetto dell’epoca

“With one of my favorite opera productions returning to the Met tonight, I’ve been considering lately what makes Willy Decker‘s Traviata so fine, so satisfying, and so worth a return visit.” [Musical America]

on March 14, 2013 at 3:12 PM
Happy Birthday Stefan Herheim Happy Birthday Stefan Herheim

The Prince of Regie, who’ll direct a new Vêpres siciliennes for the Royal Opera this fall, is 43 years old today.

on March 13, 2013 at 7:09 PM
The Beczala contradiction The Beczala contradiction

So, Piotr Beczala (left) has gone and blabbed to Luister, which is some sort of Dutch glossy classical music magazine…

on March 13, 2013 at 1:35 PM
Blood simple Blood simple

“One of the things I’m gradually learning as I’m coming up my the 20th anniversary of writing about opera for publication is that you have to be wary about making Pronouncements.”

on February 23, 2013 at 2:47 AM
Equal rites Equal rites

As with all good myths, certainly all the myths at the heart of Wagner’s operas, the juggling of symbols and archetypes and themes in Parsifal opens the piece to a great variety of interpretations.

on February 21, 2013 at 11:41 PM