Antonello Palombi may not be the best tenor in Italy, but he is certainly the fastest.
Opera Chic has learned of the shrouded circumstance to as why Palombi ruthlessly barged-up onto stage in black jeans and a long black shirt (as you see in the photo) for Sunday night’s Aida.
It’s now an open secret that Palombi wasn’t even supposed to be Alagna’s replacement for Sunday night! He was actually number three for the night, and hence, was not costumed!
When Palombi heard the booing on Sunday night, and figured that it was going to make Alagna go mental, he raced to the backstage area. It was from behind the wings that he out-ran the official replacement for the night, who was *already* in full costume, tenor Walter Fraccaro.
La Repubblica has put up a browser-crashing film of Palombi's informal Sunday night premiere (Warning: may crash Firefox).
We see here that Palombi -- a struggling tenor with a family that needs to pay the bills -- was simply an opportunist. Early bird gets the worm am i rite?
This tenor certainly knows where to be at the right moment..but where the hell was Fraccaro??
I have a suspicion that Opera Chic will soon be breaking something devastating today... tiny morsels to whet the appetite; then down comes the guillotine! This is not good on ones blood pressure, not to mention ignoring all else throughout the day. But the blanket coverage has just been commanding!!! No question this young American woman in Milan is wired right to the heart of Teatro Alla Scala!
Brilliant Stunning Sweeping coverage...
BETTER than CNN could hope for!!
Posted by: Crew Mantle | December 13, 2006 at 03:07 PM
Crew Mantle, you are too kind! I think it can only get worse if Alagna burns-down his hotel to avoid paying the bill! OMG LETS NOT GIVE HIM ANY IDEAS!
Posted by: Opera Chic | December 13, 2006 at 03:41 PM
I swear, this is some of the funniest stuff on the net right now. The mix of text-message/leet-speak diction with opera gossip is brilliant, and the cut-and-paste jobs are inspired. Golden-thong-wearing cube-dwellers salute you!
Posted by: A_Fan | December 13, 2006 at 03:47 PM
dam! are they cut and paste jobs??? I was like, these guys must be seriously wacky if they get photographed that way!
Posted by: coccodrillo | December 13, 2006 at 03:50 PM
I have just listened to the end of "Celeste Aida" through the link you provided and seriously Alagna was not bravissimo but sharp, almost singing a B natural instead of a flat. Considering that he couldn't even sing Nemorino in tune, Radames was a very long shot...
Posted by: saintmontous | December 13, 2006 at 04:31 PM
Poor Roberto. Let's be honest. Almost NOBODY deserves what is happening to him. In the beginning, I was hot to spank him but it has gone too far. People are practically fighting each other to say how horrible Mr. Alagna is (IN PRINT, mind you.) I'm waiting to hear about him simultaneously raping nuns while molesting small children.
This is a total smear campaign to ruin this man. Yes, he is an F+ singer but not malevolent. He deserves to be booed, not murdered!
Posted by: NYSailorScout | December 13, 2006 at 04:59 PM
Oh that rat! No wonder Alagna is paranoid.
Posted by: Lena | December 13, 2006 at 05:36 PM
If the LA REPUBBLICA site gives your browser fits, try YouTube:
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=AxyBxbGF- Qg
Posted by: fignaz | December 13, 2006 at 07:59 PM