This week on “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” a 1998 live performance of Gomes’ opera Maria Tudor conducted by Luis Fernando Malheiro. The heroine of this opera (based on a rather improbable play by dear Victor Hugo) is the Queen of England known to history as “Bloody Mary.” As depicted by Gomes, Maria is regal, highly…

By on August 15, 2005 at 6:22 PM
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This week on “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” the kind of performance you just don’t hear any more: a “provincial” production of Manon from the New Orleans Opera, starring Montserrat Caballe. Like I said, this kind of thing just doesn’t happen these days. And did you hear about the 16 year old who sang Carmen last…

By on August 09, 2005 at 1:39 AM
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It occurred to La Cieca that she might be well advised to listen (with her mind and with her ears?) listen to the music files she’s posting into her podcast “Unnatural Acts of Opera.” Not that there are technical problems with the source materials, oh, no, never that, but rather she thought she could start…

By on August 04, 2005 at 4:14 PM
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This week on La Cieca’s podcast Unnatural Acts of Opera, we hear Virginia Zeani and Giuseppe Gismondo scale the verismo heights of Mascagni’s Il piccolo Marat. This 1962 performance also stars Nicola Rossi-Lemeni and Afro Poli; Ottavio Ziino conducts.

By on August 02, 2005 at 2:02 AM
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The ineffable Leyla Gencer gives a master class in grandezza in the latest episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera. The diva stars as La Gioconda in a live 1971 performance of Ponchielli’s opera.

By on July 26, 2005 at 2:10 AM
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More bad news for Alberto Vilar. The Royal Opera House has given him 60 days to pony up the 10 million pounds he promised in return for their naming a reception area of the theater “The Vilar Floral Hall.” (Is this guy the Gladys Glover of opera or what?) Says Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas (chair…

By on July 21, 2005 at 1:45 PM
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At long last, the final act of Bellini’s sublime bel canto masterpiece Norma, with Montserrat Caballe, Gianni Raimondi and Ivo Vinco. A 1974 performance from Moscow, Francesco Mollinari-Pradelli conducting. Plus: a new, user-friendlier web player! Unnatural Acts of Opera

By on July 19, 2005 at 10:42 PM
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… there’s a change in cast in the current episode of “Unnatural Acts of Opera” — Fiorenza Cossotto canceled after the second act of this 1974 performance of Norma, and the part of Adalgisa was sung in the third act by Bruna Baglioni. La Cieca makes the announcement at Unnatural Acts of Opera.

By on July 19, 2005 at 1:03 AM
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The second “episode” of Norma is now available for download at Unnatural Acts of Opera. And speaking of Norma, can anyone confirm this story? It’s a regional production of the opera, sometime around the mid to late ’60s. The Adalgisa either learned the role in a big hurry or else was just congenitally not very…

By on July 16, 2005 at 3:30 AM
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Did you know Unnatural Acts of Opera is the only all-opera podcast in the whole, uh, podosphere? Even better, this podcast features only live opera performances, preferably demented. Our opera this time is both live and demented, with even a soupcon of backstage drama to add an extra frisson. La Cieca presents the first act…

By on July 15, 2005 at 3:31 AM
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Those of you who haven’t had the chance to hear the “Oper” section of La Cieca’s podcast of Ariadne auf Naxos should take the time today; starting tonight a new opera will be programmed on the free player. (Both parts of the Ariadne, as well as last week’s Macbeth, will remain available for downloading via…

By on July 14, 2005 at 2:14 PM
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San Francisco Opera, as always right on the crest of the wave, introduced its own podcast over the weekend. Pamela Rosenberg and Donald Runnicles yak about the 2005-06 season, which will include the premiere of the new John Adams piece “Dr. Atomic,” and some musical highlights of the rest of the repertoire are included too.…

By on July 10, 2005 at 4:15 PM
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Backstage drama! The veteran prima donna suspects a conniving newcomer of trying to upstage her — both onstage and off! No, it’s not All About Eve, but almost! Now, on the parterre podcast “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” the Prologue to Ariadne auf Naxos from the Salzburg Festival 1954. Lisa della Casa, Hilde Gueden and Irmgard…

By on July 08, 2005 at 2:21 PM
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After a service interruption that lost all her files (grrrrr!) La Cieca has restored and restarted her Web radio show Il Gran Teatro della Cieca. Included in this rotation are the Macbeth and Turandot from her podcast, plus complete performances of L’incoronazione di Poppea, Samson et Dalila and Jenufa. Thank you for your patience, and…

By on July 08, 2005 at 12:39 PM
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For the first “regular” show of “Unnatural Acts of Opera,” La Cieca presents Shirley Verrett in Act One of Verdi’s Macbeth in a live (and lively!) performance from La Scala, the opening night of the 1975 season. This was surely one of the greatest nights of Verrett’s career, when Kunst and Stimm met in perfect…

By on July 02, 2005 at 1:35 PM
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It has come to La Cieca’s attention that not everyone listens to music on an Ipod, or, for that matter, wants to. Chacun a son gout, as she always says. To accomodate those of you who want to listen to “Unnatural Acts of Opera” over your computer’s speakers, she’s added a new gizmo to the…

By on July 01, 2005 at 6:42 PM
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The reviews for Apple’s iTunes 4.9 are mixed but the consensus is “thumbs up.” La Cieca downloaded and installed the new version last night; very smooth. The interface with podcasts is something less than lavish, the one part of the application that feels “freeware.” But La Cieca realizes there are a lot of people out…

By on June 30, 2005 at 3:05 PM
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The decentralization of the music business is progressing so quickly La Cieca can hardly keep up. (Though it’s not like she’s completely in the loop; as you know, she only recently found out that Giulio Ricordi had died!) The very latest (as of this morning) is that Apple has launched a new build of iTunes…

By on June 29, 2005 at 2:08 PM
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“Unnatural Acts of Opera” — that’s what La Cieca is calling her new opera podcast. The “unnatural” in this case has nothing to do with sodomy or lasciviousness, but she’s sure she can hold your interest anyway, with extraordinary opera performances presented one act at a time. (Get it?) La Cieca stessa will offer commentary…

By on June 26, 2005 at 10:38 PM
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So La Cieca has been thinking about joining the pod people; that is, she wants to try her hand at podcasting. One idea off the top of La Cieca’s well-coiffed head is something called “Daily Dose of Diva,” a mix of some of my favorite opera recordings and a bit of yakking thrown in. But…

By on June 10, 2005 at 2:08 PM
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