Before La Cieca departs on holiday from her podcasting duties, allow her to introduce The Podderdammerung Page. Once again, La Cieca scoops the universe: here on parterre.com you can now listen to (or download) the entire Ring cycle, as featured on this month’s Unnatural Acts of Opera. What sort of Ring will you hear there? […]
UPDATE: the podcast of Das Rheingold is now online! La Cieca is delighted and not a little bit frightened to announce that Unnatural Acts of Opera will present the first-ever podcast of Wagner’s tetraology Der Ring des Nibelungen beginning Friday, June 2 and continuing through the last weekend of the month. The series will consist […]
Since this week’s Unnatural Acts of Opera podcasts feature a classic live recording of Bizet’s Carmen, La Cieca thought it might be fun to remember the legendary chanteuse Leona Anderson with a clip of her performance of the Habanera. La Anderson, who was once described as “the missing link between Florence Foster Jenkins and Mrs. […]
You know, La Cieca heard there were some staging modifications to the Wilson Lohengrin since the last revivial, but who knew? As La Cieca announces in her current podcast, she will be liveblogging the WQXR broadcast of the Volpe Farewell Gala this Saturday evening. Comments will be enabled so you can be as interactive as […]
This week’s podcasts feature a reprise performance (the 1977 Turandot starring Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe and Leona Mitchell) with all new chatter from La Cieca. In the current episode, she yaks about the Volpe Farewell Gala and poses yet another of “The Enigmas of La Cieca.” It’s all at Unnatural Acts of Opera, of course.
Speaking of Montserrat Caballe and Anna Bolena — well, let’s speak of them in the same sentence. From February 21, 1982, a performance of Donizetti’s masterpiece, starring Montse opposite the loggionisti of La Scala. Blood was left on that stage, and it wasn’t all hers. That’s this time on Unnatural Acts of Opera.
For Good Friday, a decidedly non-traditional Parsifal Act Two. Renata Scotto sings her only performance ever of Kundry in this April 14, 1995 performance featured on Unnatural Acts of Opera.
Finally, finally La Cieca has an updated archive/download page for all the “Unnatural Acts of Opera” podcasts. Enjoy your downloading and please let her know if any of the links don’t work for you. (And, as always, note the Amazon Honor System box in the right nav bar; that’s what keeps the podcasts and the […]
Next up in the spring podcast season, Act 1 of Die Walkuere starring Eileen Farrell, James King and Michael Langdon. Leonard Bernstein leads this sizzling 1968 performance. Unnatural Acts of Opera.
“Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.” That’s the advice Judy Garland gave Liza Minnelli, and I think we can all agree that dear Liza took those words to heart with great success. At the moment, though, La Cieca is wondering how Judy would feel about a […]
That Eveready Rabbit of a diva, Montserrat Caballe, is going to camp it up once more at the Vienna State Opera when she makes her role debut as the Duchesse de Krackenthorp (the Ljuba Welitsch part) in Laurent Pelly‘s production of Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment in April 2007. This production, starring Natalie Dessay and […]
First word on Francesca Zambello‘s “American iconography” production of Der Ring des Nibelungen sounds moderately dire. Our top secret mole The Concerned Wagnerian reports from somewhere in the vicinity of the Washington National Opera: “Alberich is panning for gold in a western getup. The Rhinemaidens reveal their gold as a large quilt. Yes, a quilt. […]
Well, no, of course, there’s no such thing as too many tenors, but it’s good to know we have so many high male voices around these days. One from the present (Rolando Villazon) and one from the past (Beniamino Gigli) are featured in Ed Rosen’s recently-debuted podcast, and one for the future is parterre favorite […]
Next week, you, mon cher public, along with the rest of le tout New York will of course attend Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh‘s 20th Annual Farewell Recital at Symphony Space. In preparation for this epochal event, La Cieca hopes you will listen to her interview with Mme. Vera’s alter ego, Ira Siff, on Unnatural Acts of […]
La Cieca has just heard that Neil Shicoff has canceled the dress rehearsal of Luisa Miller at the Met; Eduardo Villa (cover for the run) will do it. And La Cieca has heard further that Sergio Blazquez, scheduled to make his NYCO debut in La boheme in April, is having visa problems, so Gerard Powers […]
So here we are at the final act of Giordano’s Fedora, and all those nasty little secrets everyone’s been telling throughout the opera are about to be exposed! Marcella Pobbe stars as the mysterious Princess Fedora Romazoff in a performance from the Teatro La Fenice, February 9, 1968. And as a bonus, YouTube video of […]
La Cieca hears that Audra McDonald will sing the role of Kitty Oppenheimer when the Met presents John Adams‘ Dr. Atomic in the 2008-2009 season. La McDonald, it will be remembered, premiered Kitty’s aria “Easter Eve, 1945” in May 2004 with the New York Philharmonic under Adams’ baton. The versatile songstress is currently in Houston […]
Actress/model/skank Carmen Electra will live up to her dual-barrelled operatic name tonight when she attends the Vienna Opera Ball. Curvy Carmen is the date of Viennese entrepreneur/socialite/reality show star Richard Lugner, who annually throws money at a celebrated piece of arm candy in hopes of attracting publicity. La Electra (oh, La Cieca thinks that is […]
This week on “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” La Cieca presents what you might call an “ultragala” performance of La traviata — the four acts performed by four different celebrated interpreters of the role of Violetta. For the first act, Anna Moffo is the courtesan, in a 1964 performance from La Scala. Gianni Raimondi is her […]
As a supplement to this week’s podcast of Faust, a video of Alfredo Kraus singing “Salut, demeure” in 1972.
Two legendary artists are captured in the freshness of vocal youth in this week’s podcast. Richard Tucker and Victoria de los Angeles star in a production of Gounod’s Faust from the New Orleans Opera, February 26, 1953. Unnatural Acts of Opera
Join La Cieca in a special edition of “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” recalling some great moments from magnificent Birgit Nilsson. Part 1 includes selections from Die Walkuere, Lohengrin (with Astrid Varnay), Siegfried (with Hans Hopf), Goetterdaemmerung and Parsifal (with Helge Brilioth), plus “I Could Have Danced All Night.” In Part 2, Nilsson is heard in […]
UPDATED January 12: The legendary Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson died on December 25, it was announced yesterday. She was 87. La Cieca will present a special episode of “Unnatural Acts of Opera” tonight in salute to Mme. Nilsson. Birgit Nilsson as Isolde, Metropolitan Opera, 1971 Once Birgit Nilsson was negotiating a contract with Herbert von […]
Soprano Mariella Devia — who La Cieca thought was such a sweet ingenue type — turns tigress for the title role of Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti). This live performance from 2003 also features Daniela Barcellona (Maffio Orsini), Marcelo Alvarez (Gennaro) and Michele Pertusi (Don Alfonso, Duca di Ferrara) under the baton of Renato Palumbo. The Prologue […]
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).
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!
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