Opera Chic

Rolando Out of the MET's December 2009 Les Contes

As spoketh from The Metropolitan Opera:

Rolando Villazón has withdrawn from the title role in the Met’s new production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, scheduled for December 3, 2009 through January 2, 2010. He announced today that he is undergoing throat surgery and expects to return to the stage in 2010. The Metropolitan Opera looks forward to his return in future seasons.

A replacement for the role of Hoffmann will be announced at a later date.

Rolando's management early hopes -- that he could be back around the end of the year -- do not seem to be realistic.

HD Dive & Divi: Vanity Fair Metropolitan Opera Spotlight, Part II

(Photo: Wayne Maser)

The Vanity Fair May spread on the Metropolitan Opera's latest hawtness -- which we already posted about here -- is available online in full, photoshop'd glory.

From left to right: Mariusz Kwiecien, Polish baritone; Maija Kovalevska, Latvian soprano; Rolando Villazón, Mexican tenor; Nathan Gunn, American baritone; Danielle de Niese, Australian-born soprano; Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan bass; Anna Netrebko, Russian soprano.

Click here for the story.

Rolando Villazón Pulls Out of L'Elisir

As per The Metropolitan Opera:

"Rolando Villazón is still struggling with acute laryngitis. In order to give himself the rest he needs to make a full recovery, his doctor has advised him to withdraw from the remaining performances of L’Elisir d’Amore. He has canceled performances on April 8, 11, 15, and 18."

Barry Banks will sing Nemorino on April 8, Joseph Calleja will sing on April 22, while the remaining performances on April 11, 15 & 18 "will be announced soon".

Vanity Fair Does HD Opera

Opera, not exactly the sole object of fashionable care these days -- chess is probably seen as more glamorous by the general public, and cricket less elitist -- will soon enjoy its brief moment of glamor: Sarah B., the woman who knows everything about show business -- and magazines, too -- has noticed that in the May issue of Vanity Fair there are a whopping two pages devoted to opera -- a layout of the dive and divi who appear in the Metropolitan Opera's HD broadcasts.

It's a Photoshop-galore fest of retouching and strategic lighting that the true opera connoisseur can't miss!

(Sarah also thinks VF is biased against mezzos, but she's probably giving too much credit to the magazine -- not to mention the Met PR department's way of thinking. It's also true that if, or when, Katherine Jenkins and her bewbs appear in a Met broadcast, the VF spread will suddenly happen. And she is a mezzo, after all)

Placidone's 125th Birthday Gala Yay!

Last night the Met celebrated its 40th birthday and Placido Domingo's 125th!

A four hour celebration of all things Placidone & Metropolitan Opera hosted by GM Peter Gelb & MD James Levine, with highlights from Gounod's Faust, (with Alagna & Radvanovsky), Puccini's La Fanciulla (with Placidone), Strauss' Rosenkavalier (with Mentzer & Voigt), Verdi's Rigoletto (with Florez reprising his Duke), Verdi's Traviata (with Dessay trying-out her Violetta), and Korngold's Die Tote Stadt (with la Fleming) -- among many others.

Star power was in no shortage for those celebrities who sacrificed their Sunday evening to endure the opera marathon. Check it all below:

Below, Mary-Kate Olsen and ~friend~

 

Below, Ginnifer Goodwin:

 

Below: Diane Kruger and Joshua Jackson

 

Below, Parker Posey:

 

**Click on the link below to see tons more celebrity turn-out**

Opera's Dream Team Stars in an Opera Dream: La Sonnambula at the Metropolitan Opera with Flórez & Dessay

~*O.C.*~ is rawking exclusive pictures from the final dress rehearsal of Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula at The Metropolitan Opera. Opening Monday, March 2, 2009, the production has our most favorite singers cutting up the stage: Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez and French soprano Natalie Dessay, who will be doing anything but sleepwalking through the new Mary Zimmerman production.

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(All photos credit Stephen Chernin)

Dessay and Flórez at the MET for Bellini's La Sonnambula

OC is proud to share with you a cache of images from last night's Dessay/Flórez round-table: "Moonlight Becomes You: Dessay, Flórez and Sonnambula" at New York City's Metropolitan Opera House, Elena Park with omg Margaret Juntwait as the moderator. The two petite superstars were on hand to answer questions and discuss their upcoming performance of Bellini's La Sonnambula, opening Monday, March 2. The Mary Zimmerman production will be conducted by Evelino Pidò. Pictures have been graciously provided by two of OC's dearest East Coast collaborators! ♥ ♥

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**~CLICK ON LINK B-LOW 4 MOAR SEKSINESS!~**

Metropolitan Opera's Big Day YAY!

As Opera Chic will be traveling all day to report on, well, opera, we point you to Parterre box -- as today, big sis la Cieca will be liveblogging ("connectivity permitting") the Metropolitan Opera's 2009-2010 new season announcement.

Hosted by General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the new season announcement will be made from Lincoln Center's List Hall, beginning at 10:00 am (EST).

For those who are too excited to sleep, you can snack on Brad Wilber's Met Futures compilations (hosted at Sieglinde's Diaries).

OC's Anna&Rolando Editorial

Scroll down the page or simply click here to read yesterday's editorial.

Anna & Rolando: The Mess At The Met -- The Opera Chic Editorial

She shows up, not in the best shape -- vocally quite sound but unprepared in the new  cadenze that had been prepared for her by the leading musicologist in the field, because she couldn't be bothered, frankly. Her visual publicity material had to be carefully -- and discreetly -- retouched by the Met's hype-obsessed publicity department, given the unflattering appearance of the new mother -- who's very much human, thank goodness -- in many of her unretouched stills.

He shows up, a year after his comeback now, after a carefully orchestrated PR offensive meant to reassure everybody in the business that his shares are still a good investment, that Villazon Inc is ready to roll, again.

(On a sidenote: nevermind all the talk about stuff having been transposed down -- it happens with Lucia, and it's immaterial in this case. By the way, Donizetti wrote the mad scene in F major, for example, it was then sung down a full tone, and the first Ricordi edition has it in E major. The traditional crazy coloratura one is accustomed to, in recordings, would have sounded weird to the composer himself. Lucia is not a coloratura role anyway, but we're digressing now).

Then we saw (and heard) what happened on stage.

A performance (by him) that would have been literally booed off the stage of less forgiving houses; everybody and their sister was recording that night, and the cleaner the recording, the worse he sounds (it's often the opposite). Then it's off to two replacements, one of whom has had problems (of a lesser gravity) of his own but can pull the role off thanks to talent, understanding of the linea di canto, better health and sheer good old fashioned Southern Italian force of will.

She's not dazzling, she's OK. You can't photoshop her in a HD livecast but you can dress and light her more carefully than they did back in Russia last month, so she escapes from the ruins almost unscathed -- at least in a place like the Met, where you basically get an ovation for showing up.

Oh, and his second replacement -- we'll see how he goes, but he's certainly good, solid, and in health. He's not a major star. At his age, it's unlikely he'll ever become one, frankly. He's solid, though. Solid, unfortunately, is not the same as big star, solid does not give you "buzz", and "solid, healthy" is fine but it is not the right material to build hype with. And if your opera house's entire (expensive) game plan rests on massive foundations of hype, well, it pretty much sucks.

Speculation now runs rampant, leaks -- more or less accurate -- flow like watered-down cortisone from one side, "she's mad", "she feels cheated". "She hates him". Really? Breakups are always bad, after all (he does know that already, poor sweet kid).

And silence from the other side, after all his career is at stake now, not hers -- it's easier to lose the baby fat and stay away from the cocktails than to heal one's damaged vocal folds.

He then cancels more engagements. Their (dubbed) movie hasn't gone down that well either (after all, "buxom" and "consumptive" aren't usually written about the same performer in the same performance by critics; in this case, sadly, it happened).

Question: how do you go from a 2005 Traviata for the ages (despite what is at the very least lackluster conducting) to this? Only 40 months later?

Answer: nobody -- except the fans -- cares.

The people who should care, well, they're scouting opera houses and auditions in Eastern Europe and South America as we write, looking for the next next big thing -- thinner, hotter, healthier. The new new thing that will finally save opera from oblivion, that will magically attract that elusive new audience, as the old one grows increasingly older and crankier and inevitably more nostalgic.

Some of those kids out there have good voices, too, besides looking good. They do come awfully cheap, when you sign them.

What makes Opera Chic sad is that, at least, actual artists like Di Stefano and Ricciarelli enjoyed a good run, prior to their crashing into the brick wall of the end of their career.

It was certainly longer than 40 months.

It's Official: Beczala IN, Villazon OUT Of Saturday's Lucia Broadcast

Neither Rolando Villazon nor Giuseppe Filianoti will sing Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor on Saturday at 1:00 p.m., New York time. Piotr Beczala will. The performance is being broadcast worldwide as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Beczala already sang as Edgardo at the Met in the fall of 2008. He is currently singing Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Met.

Here are a some shots from last night's Lucia at the Met courtesy of a major player for Team O.C.:

 

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Filianoti's Mark

(Opera Chic reader Gesztenye shared an exclusive picture of Netrebko and Filianoti at The Metropolitan Opera last night).

BREAKING NEWS FILIANOTI'S REVENGE: ITALIAN TENOR SNUBBED BY LA SCALA TO REPLACE AILING VILLAZON FOR THE MET'S LUCIA TONIGHT

The Met quietly dropped the thermonuclear device a couple hours from curtain: it's poor Giuseppe Filianoti's revenge:

Giuseppe Filianoti will sing Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor tonight, replacing Rolando Villazón who is ill.

Mr. Villazón is still scheduled to sing Edgardo on February 7 matinee.

Anna Netrebko sings the role of Lucia, with Mariusz Kwiecien as Enrico, Ildar Abdrazakov as Raimondo, and Marco Armiliato conducting.

Filianoti, just the other day, had sent an early Valentine to la Scala in an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica, calling Scala GM Stéphane Lissner "a Frenchman who doesn't care about Italy; he cares about taking the money home, but this way you eventually damage a great Italian tradition".

One More Reason For Saks Love: Another Metropolitan Opera Collaboration

(Above: photo taken from Sarah B's site)

NYC Opera/Broadway blogger & O.C. friend, Sarah B, vicariously satisfies our Saks 5th Ave longing with fifteen photos of their awesome Metropolitan Opera homage. Lucky for us all outside of NYC, Sarah B was there to take pictures, as of this past Friday, January 30, 2009, the displays have already been packed away.

In celebration of The Metropolitan Opera's 125th season, Saks Fifth Avenue's NYC flagship department store honored the opera house via their inaugural Spring 2009 window display. The Saks designers combined historic costumes from the MET stage with highlighted 2009 RTW Spring couture accessories.

Windows boasted a sumtous assortment of classic costumes: A Marc Chagall-designed costume from the Met’s 1967 Zauberflöte; A Christian Lacroix gown that Renée Fleming wore in the new production of Thaïs last month; Enrico Caruso's hat and coat from a 1903 MET Pagliacci, and Regina Resnik’s dress from the 1965 The Queen of Spades.

This is the third time Saks has created Metropolitan-inspired windows: The first was for Anthony Minghella's production of Madama Butterfly a few years ago, and the second was for the 2007-08 season's new productions of Hansel and Gretel, Peter Grimes, and Satyagraha.

Netrebko's Madness

Anna & Rolando Have A Bad Night

 

(Photo Credit: Ken Howard.)

Bad night last night at the Met in Lucia di Lammermoor with the utterly glamorous -- and gloriously expensive -- Netrebko/Villazon duo, as Opera Chic at la Scala basked in the silver light of Henri Duparc's music:

Netrebko simply lacked the vocal agility to pull it off. She stinted on much of the usual ornamentation and failed to hit the final high E-flat squarely. The applause that followed was surprisingly tepid for a scene that usually stops the show in its tracks.

For Met audiences who have heard both Natalie Dessay and Diana Damrau triumph as "Lucia" in the last 18 months, the question is why Netrebko should undertake the role at all when her voice is so much better suited to other repertory.

As for Villazon, he sounded in bad shape from his first entrance, an ominous rattle infecting his high notes. During his solo outburst in the wedding scene, his voice cracked and he froze for several seconds, then continued a half-tone lower. Before the curtain rose for the final act, general manager Peter Gelb announced Villazon "was not feeling well" but would continue. He made it, just barely, through his final scene, but the ovation he received was surely more a sympathy vote than a true endorsement.

It's especially worrisome to hear this once-promising Mexican tenor in such ragged shape, since he suffered a vocal crisis nearly two years ago and stopped singing for several months. This was his first Met appearance since he resumed his career in early 2008.

If you're a glass half-full kind of a person, well, at least no one collapsed on stage!
 Still, it pretty much sucks, esp. given how many bad nights Rolandino seems to be having as of late (his comeback happened about a year ago already).

BREAKING: "Sick" Gheorghiu Pulls Out Of Met's "Rondine"

Unsurprisingly, Angela Gheorghiu -- who hasn't fulfilled in ages a complete run of an opera she was under contract to appear in -- has called in sick. Maureen O'Flynn will sing the role of Magda at tonight's performance (that will be broadcast live) of Puccini's "La Rondine" at New York City's Metropolitan Opera.

So, did you spend a lot of money to get tkts to see Angiola? It kinda sux for you, but then, as the "Wall Street Journal" wrote,

As directed by Stephen Barlow, Ms. Gheorghiu upset the delicate balance of the worldly woman smitten by the ardent young man. Her Magda was a little too mature and knowing, a predatory cougar rather than a woman ready to abandon herself to love. The arching melody of her aria "Chi i bel sogno di Doretta" should convey pure yearning; Ms. Gheorghiu made it a show -- Magda amusing her friends with a caricature of a young girl's love. She also sounded patchy in her middle range, and accompanied her singing with curious arm wavings.

If we can't believe in Magda, the opera's structure falls apart, and Puccini's exquisite tunes don't fit the action. Other elements were off as well.

All's well, etc.

Anthony Tommasini's Opera Lesson: Casta Diva = Yesterday

Opera Chic seldom joins the legions of haters of poor Tony Tom, mostly because she's a live-and-let live kind of a girl, and now the New York Times is not even her local paper anymore -- Corriere della Sera ftw! -- but sometimes TT's shenanigans move us to action.

Yesterday, Tony Tom celebrated Black Friday by doling out a discount Cliffs Notes on a much worthy subject: belcanto, that most misunderstood of opera genres.

But the bel canto melodies that most captivate me are those that spin out in long, elegant, endless lines that almost disguise the phrase structure of the melody. For a modern equivalent, think of the Beatles’ song “Yesterday,”...

If you check out the story, there's much worse in there.

Oh, and he also writes that opera presentations are about to "bone up".

Baren-who? NYC Doesn't Care About Daniel Barenboim's Metropolitan Opera Debut

Daniel Barenboim, the 66-year-old conductor of many nationalities will settle into the orchestra pit at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, November 28 for his first public appearance conducting Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

To help you digest your turkey leftovers and soothe your Black Friday consumer angst, you can still find *plenty-o-tix*. WTF NYC? It's the Thanxgiving weekend, ok, and it's not the cool new Chereau staging we saw last year in Milan, but is everybody so stuffed with turkey buttz and gizzard gravy that they have more important things to do than witness Barenboim's Metropolitan premiere?

Also making their premieres are Swedish soprano Katarina Dalayman and hard-of-hearing German heldentenor Peter Seiffert, singing the title roles but apparently this gave NYC the lawls. René Pape, he of all things awesome will sing King Marke, reprising the role which he sang in the inaugural 1999 Dieter Dorn production.

We peeked on the page for la prima, and it looks like NYC has other plans tomorrow night...

We've got a nice assortment of production photos just for you!

(Above: Peter Seiffert as Tristan, Katarina Dalayman as Isolde, and Michelle DeYoung as Brangäne)

(Above: Seiffert as Tristan, Katarina Dalayman as Isolde)

**click on the link below for a handful of more shots!!**

The End Of The Prompter's Box: Peter Seiffert First Singer To Use Earpiece @ Metropolitan Opera

The NYTimes reports:

"But during rehearsals for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Wagner’s 'Tristan und Isolde,' which opens on Friday night, the German tenor singing Tristan, Peter Seiffert, has been using a personal electronic prompter: an earpiece through which he can hear the cues directly. The only previous time a performer at the Met has used such a device came last season in a speaking role for the new production of Donizetti’s 'Fille du Régiment.' Mr. Seiffert has sung several major Wagner roles to acclaim, including Tannhäuser for his Met debut in 2004. When he sang Tristan in Berlin two years ago he also used an earpiece. A Met official said yesterday that Mr. Seiffert was still deciding whether to use the earpiece on Friday, when the conductor Daniel Barenboim would be making his Met debut."

Orchestras playing too loud are one thing; singers going deaf for it are entirely another.

Danny & Jimmy's Carnegie Hall Adventure: The Fabulous Barenvine Boys

It's all Barenboim all the time for New York: the Israeli/Argentinian/Spanish/Palestinian/Whatevs maestro is in NYC to:

1. make his Metropolitan Opera debut on November 28 with Tristan und Isolde
2. play a solo piano recital at the Met on December 14
3. play with the Met music director James Levine on November 23 at Carnegie’s Weill Hall four-hand piano pieces by Schubert and Brahms

Whew!

What Opera Chic can exclusively reveal is that Barenboim, now that Mike Mussina has officially retired, will officially do a try out for the New York Yankees -- a lifetime of piano playing apparently gave Barenboim a mean, mean slider.

OC Says Jump, You Say How High: Associated Press Gives Credit Where It's Due

Big props to Ronald Blum over at the Associated Press for being so kind as to namecheck OC in his story about the MET's troubles, happily surprising us:

"Gelb responded to inquiries about the change in plans a day after the Web site Opera Chic said the Met intended to cut four unspecified productions from next season's schedule."

Coming soon on the AP the words: "Mr. Keri-Lynn Wilson" instead of "Peter Gelb". Then OC's mission will be complete.

The screencap:

Gelb Comes (Partially) Clean, Confirms "Ghosts of Versailles" Is Out. OC Says: Three More to Get Axed

Funny how yesterday we said that the Met would cancel four operas from the 2009-2010 season, due to financial pressure.

Little more than 24 hours later, the Met has finally acknowledged that cuts will be made. Unfortunately, as of now they are only saying that John Corigliano's "Ghosts of Versailles" will be canceled:

Angela Gheorghiu and Thomas Hampson, who were to appear, instead will sing in a less-costly revival of Verdi's "La Traviata," Met general manager Peter Gelb said Thursday.

"In looking at ways to economize, that was an unfortunate sacrifice," Gelb said in an interview. "It's a much more expensive revival than most."

Gelb said all eight new productions will proceed as planned, but that some revivals may be replaced with less expensive ones.

Of course, this cancellation luckily relieves Angela Gheorghiu, whose repertoire is even smaller than her voice, from having to learn a new role (Violetta she has more or less committed to memory, at this point).

Then let's help out the shy peoples over at the Metropolitan Opera.

And let's say it for them, then.

The three other operas that are going to vanish from their roster for '09-'10, besides the one already confirmed by Mr. Keri-Lynn Wilson are:

*Lulu
*Lady Macbeth
*The Nose

For the Metropolitan Opera, Everything's Coming Up Dollars

Dang!

"The Metropolitan Opera led all U.S. arts organizations in fundraising from private sources with $128.1 million in 2007, according to a survey of 400 nonprofits by the Chronicle of Philanthropy."

Metropolitan Opera's 125th Anniversary Season: Red Carpet Arrivals

Maybe it was the conflicted double-booking of Milan's fashion shows that kept the A-listers away from the Metropolitan Opera's annual Fall season opener, cuz as far as we could tell, this year was lacking in ~star power~. No designers like Stefano Pilati or jetset models like Naomi Campbell, no Anna Wintour, etc. Instead, a cheesy clique of tri-state news *personalities* filled-in the orchestra seats. Aside from the p33ps below, the opening night was also graced with appearances by Jane Fonda, John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Yo-Yo Ma with his daughter Emily, Henry & Nancy Kissinger, and John Turturro.

Naturellement, here are the OC exclusive paparazzi shots of last night's festivities at Lincoln Center. Let's start with the d00d who dressed in homage to the Met's ^enhanced^ Swarovski chandeliers:

~*~ His name is Austin Scarlett, and apparently he's a fashion designer (who went crazy with the Bedazzler). Here he is in full glory. Bask in it, byotches!

~*~ (below: omg it's Barbara Walters)

~*~(below: omg it's Helena Christensen...and Susan Graham in the background!)

~*~(below: omg it's Christie Brinkley)

~*~(below: omg it's Faye Dunaway)

~*~(omg it's Helen Mirren)

~*~(below: omg it's Martha Stewart...we're bummed that she showed-up sans daughter Alexis)

~*~(below: omg it's Parker Posey, who we hear is preggo with Keanu Reeve's spermz0rs.)

~*~(below: Rufus, cuz no Met opening is complete without him.)

~*~(below: omg it's Molly Sims)

~*~(below: the award for the most shameless & out-of-place skank/clinger-on award goes to Alex McCord & " husband" Simon van Kempen. GET OUT. Ugh, it's bad enough that Lauren Bush carries around that skanky burlap sack...stop jumping on the bandwagon.)

 

East Coast Stompin, Rippin & Rompin! Metropolitan Opera Season Opens! With (Or Without) F.O.R (Friend Of Renee) Alberto Vilar

As Opera Chic is busy with Milan's fashion shows and party party (reports to come soon), tonight begins the Metropolitan Opera's 125th anniversary season, kicking-off with the orgiastic Dionysian Mysteries of Opening Night Gala at 6:30 pm Eastern. Alas, Chicsters, drunken with the joy inspired by the new collections we extend a boisterous in bocca al lupo to all of our fabulous stars!

And we send a shoutout to someone who -- unless an opera-loving judge authorized his trip uptown -- won't be there tonight, and certainly not in his old comfy toasty seat: that old benefactor from Cuba (via bricktown / Newark, NJ) il signor Big Albert Vilar (who is, by the way, just like everybody else, innocent until proven guilty, so let's all wait a sec until we rename him the Raffaello Follieri from Jersey or something O.K.? O.K.).

Of Albertone, la Fleming herself once had to say:

"His generosity is far beyond anything that has preceded it," says diva Renée Fleming, a friend. "Those who were skeptical have been won over."

Or maybe, you know, not.

Whatevs!

Give Phelps A Lifetime Subscription To The Met Now. Or Eight.

As Cambridge Professor of Classics Mary Beard, one of the smartest women in recorded human history, wrote in her blog the other day,

The ancient Olympic Games were considerably more modest than our own -- and no synchronised diving, thank heavens. But the Greek cities made even more of a fuss than we do about their victorious, medal winning (or rather olive-wreath winning) athletes.

The classic ceremony was to have the victor enter his home town in a four-horse chariot through a hole in the city wall specially demolished for the occasion. Who needs walls, after all, when you’ve got splendid young men like this victor?.

The follow-up rewards included a state pension (in the form of free meals for life), front row seats at the theatre, and maybe a poem in celebration of the success.

The obvious idea here is for Peter Gelb to give Mr. Phelps a lifetime subscription to the Met, then beg him to come over to New York for the premieres as often as he can -- and, if at all possible, bring some of his teammates. No need to wear suits for our Olympians. Or even, shirts, actually.

I'm sure the Greeks would approve.

Friday in the Park with Gheorg(hiu)

The first shots are coming in from last night's Metropolitan Opera concert at Brooklyn's Prospect Park, where Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna entertained (ironically) Brooklyn hipsters, curious tourists, and whoever else cared to boogie down to BK in a free outdoor concert. Follow up from here. All images via via via via via.

 

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^^^^Update^^^^: Here's coverage with 3 videos from The Gothamist. And 85 photos here! (including the one below)

Here's the first ut00b footage, but save yourself the annoyance and start the video at 1:12 minutes in.

The Dynamic Duo of Opera In Brooklyn

(Above: Angela Gheorghiu & Roberto Alagna in rehearsal earlier this week @ Brooklyn's Prospect Park for tonight's outdoor concert. Source:Sara Krulwich/The New York Times.)

~*opera stars*~ Angela Gheorghiu & Roberto Alagna are getting ready to mic-up and serenade you under the serenity of Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Tonight at 8:00 pm, you and a projected audience of 150K onlookers can find the two pop(era)tarts in a free concert at the park's Long Meadow baseball fields. Six jumbo video screens will be erected around the field to accommodate late-comers (and shorties). 

Conducted by Ion Marin with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Gheorgalgna will sing top 40 arias and duets by Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, and Massenet. 

So, who's going? Who's staying in? For those of you homebound (or those outside of NYC...or those not fans of the Ralagnas), the performance will be broadcast live on WQXR-FM (96.3 FM), and streamed live on the Met’s website via RealPlaya.

Ben Rosen Loves Sellouts: The Metropolitan Opera -- Turnaround Case Study

The Huffington Post -- a blog that we like but we have to admit that, if it were an actual paper-based publication, would be the kind of magazine you find at your gynaecologist -- is as conflicted about the current management of the Met as it is about the choice for the next President of the US; therefore, instead of writing about the perfidy of various Republican politicians as it does in daily installments, today posted about the Metropolitan Opera. Impartial observer Ben Rosen -- it's not like he's the same Ben Rosen who, together with the late Beverly Sills, selected Mr. Keri-Lynn Wilson as Joe Volpe's successor at the Met -- wrote a massive dissertation that seems to argue more or less that OMFG WE RAWK VOLPE WAS TEH SUK!!!111

OC herself, always pretty bad at geometry and stuff (it badly interfered with OC's reading of Vogue Nippon) was totally confused by the abudance of weird charts in Mr. Rosen's post, and she needs to consult her cousin Seth, who goes to MIT, before she'll be able to comment more.

They're Invading Again!

Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima and Serbian NBA basketball player Marco Jaric bask in the glow of the paps Tuesday night at NYC's Metropolitan Opera house for the 3rd Annual American Ballet Theatre's "Noche Latina". 

A celebration of Latin American and Spanish artists, the evening was held to honor fashion designer Carolina Herrara and former ABT Principal Julio Bocca. Don Quixote was performed for the house with dancers Paloma Herrara and Angel Corella dancing the leads.

Met Gallery Alert! Divas of the Met Stage Oiled.

The Arnold & Marie Schwartz Gallery, located in the Metropolitan Opera's lobby, announces the opening of a new exhibition tomorrow. Called "The Sopranos", it's a collection of 8 portraits of *~opera divas~* by Italian surrealist artist Francesco Clemente. Clemente, in a theatrical vein, captured i soprani in their upcoming MET singing roles in oil & linen.

The exhibit runs until September 26 (so you can see it on the 2008-09 Opening Night Gala on September 22, 2008), although the gallery will be closed from July 15 - September 15 this year due to Lincoln Center reconstruction. Clemente's MET-collaborative work was most recently seen this past April, as his Satyagraha banner flew from the opera house's façade.  

The Metropolitan Opera lists Clemente’s depictions as the following: Karita Mattila as Salome, Renée Fleming as Thaïs, Natalie Dessay as Amina, Angela Gheorghiu as Magda, Deborah Voigt as Gioconda, Diana Damrau as Gilda, Susan Graham as Marguerite, Anna Netrebko as Lucia.

If OC was to pick up the brush, she'd do a whole *~opera divas as hollywood celebrites~* thing. We'd paint Anna Netrebko as Jamie Lynn Spears, Angela Gheorghiu as Mariah Carey, Karita Mattila as Sharon Stone, Susan Graham as Rachel Ray, Natalie Dessay as Miley Cyrus, Renée Fleming as Gillian Anderson, Diana Damrau as Maria Sharapova, and Deborah Voigt as Carney Wilson. l'art pour l'art.

"Honeymoon High Jinks in Operatic Style"

Ew. I didn't make up that title. TRUST. Remember when we reported a few months ago that the paps snapped Sarah Jessica Parker as she fell the eff out while shooting a big hot Vogue photo-shoot with Miley Cyrus's BF4E&E Annie Leibovitz on the red-velvet draped grand staircase of NYC's Metropolitan Opera House?

The final result is out, which can be seen in the June 2008 issue of U.S. Vogue, touting SJP cozying-up to Chris Noth on the main staircase of "everyone's favorite opera house in the whole world"...in Versace, Blahnik, Tom Ford, and Brooks Brothers. I hope they steam-cleaned that rug before letting Carrie roll around in her Versace gown.

Here it is below. Click 4 a humongoid version.
 

Très chic!

Now that the Metropolitan Opera Shop, located in the Lincoln Center Campus' Metropolitan Opera House, has closed for renovations on April 30, we are left wondering where we will go to satisfy that disposable income merchandising itch until they re-open in September (I mean, yeah, you can order online, but still...)

Aside from uncountable receipts deducted from the box office alone for those must-have performances, OC is guilty of spending way too much money on the Metropolitan brand throughout the years. Below is a fond reminiscence of one of the unique purchases from the shoppe.

It's bracelet with a printed strip of leather bearing the MET Opera House facade sewn to a piece of denim. So ugly, it becomes a beautiful butterfly! So c'mon, admit it...who else bought one?

*~*

The totally Metropolitan Opera denim leather cuff VVVVVVV

Get ur Fill of La Fille du Régiment @ The Metropolitan Opera: The Full Opera Chic Review

(above: impromptu promo space outside of the Metropolitan Opera for La Fille du Régiment.)

We were privy to ours in Milan one year & two months ago, Vienna had theirs one year ago, and now it's New York's chance to hear the applause-inducing man-chine that is Juan Diego Flórez perform his vocal-chord-defying bravado by encoring, "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!" (o hai utubes has the clip from the same production) with the "Pour mon âme" cabaletta. For this Donizetti La Fille du Régiment, Flórez belted eighteen high C’s in the span of mere minutes, and effortlessly attacked, strong-armed, devoured and digested those pesky notes.

Flórez. The man should change his name to singular form like Madonna or Elvis, Beyonce or Liberace. He's the perennial favorite, the undefeated champion of high C's. o lawdy i'm still shaking like a leaf. ok, playin. When he encored "Ah! mes amis" at the end of Act I, OC was all like 'o hai this again?' I mean, it's like kinda how Milan is at any given time 6-hours ahead of NYC, so I guess all those extra hours added up, and you NYers got your high C "Pour mon âme" encore in some weird time warp fourteen months later. :-P~~

For the Metropolitan Opera encore, Flórez hit his high C’s effortlessly and confidently, without breaking a sweat, much less staccato from the dress rehearsal, but with a definitive crystalline punch. It was delivered with a lovely bel canto that warmed and froze the clearly smitten Metropolitan audience simultaneously. After three minutes of applause he stood perfectly still with a bowed head, breaking only once to acknowledge the audience. After his amazing encore, the packed house gave him a standing ovation.

The other Flórez crowd-pleaser was his Act II, “Pour me rapprocher de Marie,” an extraordinarily paced aria that he sung sumptuously, with perfect pitch and a delicate, mature understanding, which provided a lovely contrast from his more aggressive and high-energy "Ah! mes amis". Another Flórez accomplishment of the night is his apparent weight gain, which must account for a delicious wedding cake. He looks amazing, a far cry from a sickly, gaunt, thin tenor we flinched at when we saw just three months ago at la Scala in recital.

Onto the performance: fo’reals, if u want a perfect synopsis of the operatic arc, go here to OC’s La Fille dress rehearsal review from Friday, April 18, 2008.

Not terribly much had changed with the staging, although obvs, cast & crew gave like 125.9%. N e wais...Marco, marco, Marco: tonight's conducting by Maestro Armiliato, an unsung conductor with a passion for strong, driven performances and famous among orchestras for his memory (glancing @ scores is 4 lam3rZ) was elegant, once again...animated, sprite, infectiously joyful, but a few instances were just too muscled and large for la Dessay and the ensemble.

OC noticed that some of the visual gags had been completely cut from Laurent Pelly’s direction, and the comic relief had been overall toned down. This fared well for everyone, audience included, as when the giggling got out of hand, harsh shushing erupted from quite a few patrons. Tiny things were cut, which nevertheless went a long way to create a more seamless drama -- as opposed to the dress rehearsal with the constant vie @ visual gags that gave a disjointed, unhinged, and irritated feel to many of the dramatic moments.

The chorus still needs to spend some extra time doing crunches or drills or whatever will not make them almost drop the entire "Allons, plus d'alarmes!" on the stage floor, a moment at the beginning of Act I when OC truly thought that things were going to quickly fall apart, messy, slimy pits all over the floor. Harrowing.

What killed was the not so analogous props during Act I. Here we have Marie doing her awesomely choreographed ironing routine, "Au bruit de la guerre", and in the background are all the laundry washing tools from WWI…like the wooden slat washboard and big iron tubs...yet la Dessay is hemming away at the ironing board with a white plastic iron, something you'd pick up at Sears. It was lost on me. Is it a statement on feminism? Cuz I ain't no Gloria Steinem.

Although on paper & paychex it was JDF's night, the evening belonged to la Dessay. Flawless dialogue crackled through Act I, along with a gorgeous coloratura that she controlled even as she was carried offstage horizontally or flopped over piles of laundry. She is one of the most musically spirited singers on stage, with excellent control, flawless diction, and face it...she's just frikking kewl. She slays you with a huge voice that betrays her lithe body, unleashed at the most unexpected moments, peeling and flaying the gold leaf off the highest rows in the Family Circle. (While we're at it: Gelb, my man, during your reign, plz rename "Family Circle" to something a little edgier. I mean, what the hell? Family Circus, my Disney a$$. Rename it after one of Dante's Circles of Hell. Anything. Something.)

Dessay gorgeously belted her tireless voice throughout the gigantic armory that they call The Metropolitan Opera house, a feat which is quite a challenge stacked against the smaller, more intimate opera houses in Europe. "Chacum le sait, chacun le dit" started with confident, secure top notes, and ended without straining, filled to the end with gorgeous coloratura, soaring and rich, all the while Dessay acted-off her felty 21st Regiment pants.

Act II's "C'en est donc fait" received one of the highest regards of the evening from the audience, who threw down a chilling tsunami of brava at la Dessay. She was inundated with so much applause, that she sprung forth from the 21st Regiment, motioned for the audience to stop the applause with a decisive cut of her arms, and then leapt back comically and egregiously to her blocked-out position.

This performance, the Marquise of Berkenfield and the Duchess of Krakenthorp had toned-down the interjections of Americanisms, and Krakenthorp seemed a bit detached, less fierce, but both characters still brought the el oh els.

During curtain call, Dessay came out holding Maestro Armiliato's baton, brandishing it at the audience as she took her bows. Between acts, there were too many B-C-D celebrity sightings to relay, but before the opera began, Florez's new father-in-law was front & center on the grand staircase with a posse of fellow blonds, La Trappa looked vary dazzling in Swarovski, and many of the famous faces from the Honorary Committee were in attendance glaming-up the place (check out the names below, click 4 bigger). It was a rilly rilly random mix...Gossip Girl Leighton Meester? hellys naw. Rufus...again with his mother? Yawnz0r. Naomi Campbell in a black jacket and black pants; Stefano Pilati in a weird sparkly YSL cardigan and bedroom slippers; Chuck Close; Olatz Schanbel, designer of US$ 400 plush bathrobes and nice pj's, always a woman of breathtaking beauty, living evidence of her big fat hairy genius of a pajama-wearing husband's impeccable taste, in stunning red; Emmy Rossum in sky-high heels and a sweet black puffy dress; and UFO-like sightings of Anna Wintour, but OC didn't spy her; Susan Graham munching at the first intermission; & most disheartening of the night? JDF colleague Ramón Vargas booking out of the front doors 15 minutes before show time and rushing-off into the approaching dusk. We <3 u Vargas…stay 4 teh show!

We at Team OC are happy that New York City can finally bask in the glow of that same magic we had @ la Scala 14 months ago, when Juan Diego Flórez encored "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!" We're like the first ones who could sit through Flórez singing a triple-header of Wagner's Ring Cycle without any intermissions, but to be quite honest, tonight's encore felt like sloppy seconds.

(above: Gossip Girl Leighton Meester @ the MET for la Fille)

(above: Rufus Wainwright @ the MET for La Fille with his mam)

(Stefano Pilati and La Naomi)

(La Editrix)

Olé for Olatz!

Get Ur Fille On. Tonight.

As of tonight, after Milan last year, after the dress rehearsal the other day at the Met, we're kind of afraid that La Fille Du Regiment may start to sound a little old, despite the presence of la Nata and our sweet lamby prince. We'll see.

Anyway, it's crunch time, again; and Opera Chic is going, and you're not.

You can listen to the high C's live here, though.

But it's good to remember that it's not all about Juan Diego, after all.

Why?

Because "Marie is her, really".

La Fille, La Dessay, and the Holy Flórez: Metropolitan Opera's Fille du Régiment Dress

(above: Flórez as Tonio, Dessay as Marie, Felicity Palmer as the Marquise of Berkenfield, and Marian Seldes as the Duchess of Krakenthorp)

Opera Chic has been talking about it since February 2007, the London critics went insane over it last winter, and over a year later, Natalie Dessay & Juan Diego Flórez in the Laurent Pelly production of Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment, are poised to take over New York City.

OC wasn’t completely left out of the recent La Fille Fever, however, as she was in Milan in January 2007 for Scala’s highly anticipated, historic La Fille, when Juan Diego Flórez broke the long-standing ban against encores, and belted a second round of “Ah! mes amis” to the delight of the bad-boy loving opera world.

Missing from that Scala performance was Natalie Dessay, who, as we reported here, canceled her appearance as lead Marie (rumor had it, purportedly hating as much as we did the garish, dated, and frankly boring Zeffirelli production that Scala fished from storage). Instead we had a sufficient Désirée Rancatore singing the lead as Marie, who unfortunately now pales in comparison to her colleague Dessay after witnessing yesterday’s treat. Not that she wasn't any good...but gott dayyum!

To begin the open dress rehearsal (THANK U MET MANAGEMENT & the NY State Council on the Arts!) Gelb stepped out on the stage and made a few announcements, and the curtain lifted. The overture played while a flat projection took form on stage, showing gray, stacked slabs of concrete with "1840" and "La Fille du Régiment" etched across, homage to the premiere performance at Paris's Opéra-Comique that same year.

(above: costumes on display, taken straight from the Laurent Pelly production of La Fille @ the MET.)

Listen up now and enjoy Marco Armiliato's elegant, controlled color of great understanding and tireless energy -- as the opening piece becomes one of the rare moments during the next couple of hours when the audience doesn't chuckle and guffaw unrestrained at Laurent Pelly's comedic direction or Agathe Mélinand's libretto rewrites (for OC an unfortunate mar of the entire production that decimated Donizetti's lively yet stylish score, the rare moments of subtlety inaudible over the over-achieving audience). Comedic, yes, this production brings the lawls. But the drama comes through too far & few in between, and when it did, it felt disjointed to the prior riots. To counteract the buffoonery of the direction, Maestro Armiliato carefully balanced Donizetti's composition, which was sadly lost in the unvarying hee-hawing of the audience.

Act I's curtain lifted to the Austrian Alps, and the MET chorus was dressed in local villager garb, swarming over their belongings that looked like something out of Fiddler on The Roof, straight from the Broadway stage. The chorus huddled over makeshift
armoires and wardrobes. The chorus performed their first piece, inspired by something from the opening scene of a Mel Brooks’ Broadway ruse, replete with a can-can-style romp. The chorus needs to seriously firm it up, and it seemed the women’s chorus in particular couldn't handle doing two things at once: singing and dancing. Discordant & reedy.

Finally the peasants' carts roll away to reveal Act I's scenery: three large maps folded and re-molded to create life-sized mountains and mounds as the troops of the 21st regiment campgrounds, sleeping cots sprinkled through the folds. Set designer Chantal Thomas said during the Q&A that the scale of such common things to create landscapes was to create discordance between predictable human scales. More curious, Chantal continued that it also helped make the 21st Regiment seem like toy soldiers on a battlefield. Very sweet, as indeed the regiment takes on a dioramic toy solider feel.

La Fille is supposed to take place in the early 1800s, during the Napoleonic Wars, but Pelly's is updated to occur during WWI. Because of this, lots of rewrites in the libretto glibly pepper the dialogue, aiming to refresh and satirize the old version, but more on that later.

The heroine of the opera, Natalie Dessay entered holding white laundry in her arms; a white wife beater tucked into the washed, seal blue felty uniform pants of the 21st regiment, a wig showing a shock of orange hair and a small braid in the back. Elastic suspenders were a nice touch, which she snapped against her (non existent) bewbs during one of her early tantrums.

(above: costumes for the 21st Regiment for the Laurent Pelly production of La Fille @ the MET)

Dessay is a good sport for wearing something so insanely unflattering and icky, both color and cut. But she is Marie, the embodiment of the tough & fast-talking (but sensitive & tender) tomboy. Although insanely petite and slender, her lithe dancers’ body is magnetic, and it's impossible to track anyone else when she's on. Her first vocal feat -- in tandem with on stage-daddy, an endearing Sergeant Sulpice sung by bass Alessandro Corbelli --  "Et comme un soldat j'ai du coeur!", slowly built to a memorable duet, where moments of comic relief were indeed apropos to the libretto, as in one instance, she recalled when he took her riding as a little girl, and then proceeded to mount him as if he were a horse, riding on his back and spouting her lines.

Fast forward to Juan Diego Flórez's entrance, in clean, adorable, traditional Tyrolean lederhosen...a white blouse, a full flap, shorts, and oatmeal wool knee socks with boots. Sexay. A new OC fetish? Or is it Tyrolean chic?

Fomr the first time Flórez and Dessay were together on stage, they fit against each other perfectly. Both petite and buoyant, their bodies echoed and folded on stage as comfortably as twins, although they simultaneously managed to spark that necessary chemistry as young, excitable lovers.

Dessay was sublime. She truly gave everything she had in creating Marie, a role she clearly enjoys. The energy is unable to be contained, and she twirled around the stage like a hyperactive kid. The role fits her like a glove, and once you see her as Marie, you can't imagine anyone ever coming close, and the recyclable Maries that we've seen on stage before are simply underwhelming. She had moments of brilliant, spoken-word vignettes, perfectly regressing into the saturnine mind of a reeling teen between the turmoil of love and adolescence. One of her memorable bits of comedy occurred as she read the letter outing her legacy before Suplice and the Marquise of Berkenfield, doing so in a choppy flow of latent illiteracy for what seemed ten minutes.

Flórez’s “Ah! mes amis” had a less-than-stellar male chorus struggling to keep sync with Armiliato's sprite, but not-too-quick tempo. It was far from perfect, but it simply made Flórez shine all the more. He proceeded to push his notes out more staccato than I've ever heard, but still in perfect form.

Marie’s tragic “Il faut partir, adieu!” is not a moment of omg lol, but as Dessay came out hauling a wash line of the 21st Regiment's long johns to begin her aria, the audience was hysterical, only to be deafened in silence 10 seconds later when they realized it wasn't a work of comedic relief. For this OC was not so fond of such egregious ploys at rewrites and slapstick direction…as the audience began to single out the smallest idiosyncrasy as a bid for comedy.

(above: costume sketches from the Laurent Pelly La Fille @ the MET)

It was during Act II's opening scene (where the castle has been represented as a skewed drawing room with picture frames instead of walls), with such a delicate and elegant touch by Maestro Armiliato that the comedic action on stage was just oblivious to Donizetti's score (as well as later on when the wedding guests arrive, stooped over in old age and tottering around on stage, the audience was laughing so loud that the graceful undertones of the strings could not be heard at all). As four maids dusted the Berkenfield castle, it seemed to bring on paroxysms that lasted like 5 minutes.

It was also during Act II that the rewrites from the Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-Francois-Alfred Bayard libretto went into overdrive. The Duchess of Krakenthorp (played by an excellent Marian Seldes, replacing an ill Zoe Caldwell for the entire run, who we don’t mind as a Tony-Award winning Broadway actress who made her stage debut in 1947) made comments about arriving to the palace from her Bentley, with another comment thrown around from the Marquise about someone being on the bobsled team. Don't ask.

Loads of English language dialogue is thrown in from the Duchess of Krakenthorp (and the Marquise of Berkenfield, too), who plowed ahead bullying everyone with American idioms and phrases like, "whatever, whatever". There were also rewrites that weren't necessarily from Donizetti's time, such as an order for the wedding party, to "not be stingy with the verve clicquot." ho hum. Another instance? In Act I, after Tonio utters, "Je t'aime, Marie," their subsequent duet literally interjects their love feeling like, "électrochoc". One of the punchier aberrations of the dialogue (tho' an addition in French) is when Marie screams to the audience that she is a free woman, ending the statement with a triumphant, "merde".

“C'en est donc fait” was lovely from Marie, but the orchestra still had a few obvious rusty spots to be worked on. The climax of Act II, when the 21st Regiment came rushing in to reunite with their beloved Marie is loads of fun, via a makeshift, miniaturized army tank ferrying the way loaded with too many soldiers like a circus clown car.

“Tous les trois réunis” was adorable, with lightning-fast head turns from Dessay to echo the opening measures that had the audience reeling. The closing finale ended with an etching of a rooster suspended from the ceiling, who crowed a triumphant call at the closing strains of the opera.

The upcoming performance on April 26, 2008 from The Metropolitan Opera House will be transmitted live in high definition to movie theaters for those of you who didn’t spring to pluck-up tickets back in January (when they were almost already sold-out), most likey from the two identical cameras on dollies that swing obnoxiously from the first two opposing parterre boxes. O hai btw, practically this whole production is on youtube, as it was broadcast live from Austria's ORF.

During the Q&A after the performance, Marco Armiliato was delayed, as the starchy tuxedo was just too much for him to bear any longer, and reappeared wearing a red cotton polo shirt, black blazer, and jeans, in great spirits, complimenting cast and crew alike.

(above: Maestro Marco Armiliato, bro of Fabio, and Alessandro Corbelli as Sulpice during the Q&A for the MET's Laurent Pelly la Fille)

Newlywed La Julia Trappe was in the audience waiting for her new husband, wearing the spoils of the recent wedding gifts from head to toe, cashing in on the lovely exchange rate for Euro card holders…Extensions added to her newly-platinum locks (which she wore in a ponytail), a cream-colored blazer and bright, um, slacks...sporting a new Gucci (we're pretty sure) bag from the Spring line and silk scarf.

Flórez, when questioned, said that this cast was the original, and the best he’s worked with. The same from London, rehearsals in NYC were much easier this time. Dessay spoke about her energy and physical prowess on stage, saying that her voice was gone by the end of the dress rehearsal (we noticed, but hey, it's the dress rehearsal). And Marian Seldes as the Duchess of Krakenthorp said that it was her opera stage debut.

We rushed out into the gorgeous Spring weather after the show, confident that this one will again, conquer its critics and adhere itself as one of the resonant, iconic Filles of the new generation. OC will be there for la prima on Monday night, ready to report any revisions or if the drama llama rears its ugly head!

La Bohème At Metropolitan Opera: Came for Luisotti, Stayed for Frengo, Gheorghiu Was, Um, There, Too

One of the more detached Bohèmes that OC has been to, with every eye in the house bone dry and tissues unused by the time Ramón Vargas uttered, "Che vuol dire quell'andare e venire...", though not all fault of the tenor. The chemistry between the Ceauşescu-ian ice princess and our Mexican lyric-of-many-scarves was not terribly convincing, and Gheorghiu was detached, while Vargas remained aloof when scenes called for them to converge. Both singers acted independently well enough, but a sense of platonic buddies pervaded their scenes together. Gheorgs couldn't wait for her death scene to be over, squirming uncomfortably and stroking her jaw, while Teh Fargster kept hovering over her and kept like 3-inches away at all times.

The best performance was by Italian Maestro Nicola Luisotti, who guided the tipsy, capsizable ship of Puccini's La Bohème to the safe shores. Angela Gheorghiu was at the helm of S.S. Unprepared, struggling to match obvious and egregious orchestral cues, at one point transposing notes at the end of a passage that was waiting for her measures ahead, and giving Maestro Luisotti the best workout he's had in years. Things got so precarious at one moment that Luisotti abandoned his orchestra and began furiously guiding the short-of-sight Gheorghiu through one of her simpler, later act songs with gigantic and florid flutters of his hand, matching her swells with the ebbs of the orchestra. Gheorghiu hasn't been doing her homework, and bombed the oral quiz. Vargas was more or less on point and the house clearly loves him. His Che gelida manina! wasn't anywhere close to perfection, but he received a wall of spontaneous bravi from the crowds, despite the fact that his voice at the higher notes was pinched, and he strangled a passage.

When Gheorgs wasn't singing to the beat of her own drummer that mysteriously thumped away inside her own head, or searching for the proper facial expression instead of her dependable fallback knotted brows, or beginning her scenes in a timid, inaudible voice that grew in confidence and volume as the act gelled, what did emit from her was a gorgeous, tender, well controlled voice. Act I was a mess for her entrances, while Act III had her struggling once again against the orchesetra. More insulting than her sloppiness was the male leader of the local Gheorghiu fan club, who screamed encouragement from the Family Circle at the end of an early aria "BRAVO". FAIL! U FAIL @ LIFE!

The perfect sound coaxed by Maestro Luisotti from the Metropolitan Orchestra was at moments heavenly. His mastery of Puccini's well-known score was a stellar interpretation, his idiosyncrasies insanely sexay and elegantly succinct, picking-up passages that can easily delve into sentimentality and sappiness. Afterall, it was Italian Maestro Nicola Luisotti's grandpappy that duck hunted with Puccini himself, so we expected a lot from the legacy of Puccini's circle of friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the presentation of two plaques to Mistah Franco Frengo Zeffirelli, who toddled onstage at the end of Act II's immense and unforgettable Cafe Momus scene before the first intermission to speak a few words. Gelb came out and elaborated that they were putting up two commemorative plaques on the stage walls. Frengo then thanked everyone, and personally thanked Mirella Freni, Carlos Kleiber, and Luciano Pavarotti. And Opera Chic. And his legions of silk and cashmere scarves. We <3 u Frengo!

There were a few opening night issues that have to be worked out, such as when Vargas and Gheorghiu remained in shadowed darkness during Act III's "Donde lieta usci". But more on that tomorrow, cuz this OC without sleep thing is about to get ugly.

Back on the Scene, Crispy and (un)Clean

ok, let's set a few things down, and don't you dare start with me tonight i'm still jet lagged and a little bit cranky because OC is back in NYC from a much warmer Milan (wtf NYC? Winter much?) and celebrated her arrival with The Metropolitan Opera's la prima of Sergei Prokofiev's The Gambler.

Temur Chkheidze's production for the Met was dusted from the storage racks circa 2001, and the familar sets of green astroturf were laid. Since no opera production is complete without blinding fireworks and flaming horse statues rocketed up to the heavens, this production was, um, yeah. Maestro Valery Gergiev flayed the Met orchestra and gave it all his liquid energy rocket fuel, but the dynamic, brash, lively essence of Prokofiev's composition was a little too distilled. But more on that tomorrow (also with pictures!!).

Before I eat it (my bed, not my Flintstones vitamins), I wanted to share the MET's last pimping of their Wagner <3fest of Tristan und Isolde. Drink the hypeshake. I mean, the poor Gambler got pushed aside like the middle child between Debbie V and Ben Hepp. Gergiev who? I am a sinner! I have abandoned my Gergiev!

Tonight's program for The Gambler had an insert written in 14-point TNR font that said:

"Special notice! Tomorrow night's performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, starring Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner, will be streamed live at metopera.org, starting at 7 P.M."

It's like the second coming of Juice Newton and Eddie Rabbitt. Go here for the Met newsflash.

OC will be back at the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday for Bohème with Gheorghiu and the Fargster. Two words: 1) drama 2) llama. There's also a planned tribute on Saturday to MVP Frengo, from today's NY Post. All you need is a quarter and a 4rd-grade reading level.

Don't Worry Gary: Wagner Sometimes Makes Us Want To Bash Our Head Against Hard Surfaces, too

First the barfing lady; then the tenor who tries to bust up the prompter's box -- a Wagnerian singer's best friend -- by violently demolishing it with his head.

The Met's Tristan is the drama llama that keeps on spitting.

Sarah B was there:

What a headache! No, I don't have a headache, but I bet Gary Lehman, Tristan, does. At the top of the third and final act, the pallet he was laying on started to suddenly slide the down the steeply raked stage at a fast speed. He slid about 12 feet until his head slammed into the prompter's box. The audience gasped, some screamed, and his co-stars and stage managers ran to his rescue. It was very frightening, but after about ten minutes, he shook it off and the performance resumed.

More hilarity from direct witnesses at the ever-vigilant La Cieca.

Don't Worry, Debbie. Wagner Sometimes Makes Us Puke, Too. Sick Voigt Leaves Met Stage Midperformance, Chaos @ Teh Met; Janice Baird To The Rescue

omg the drama llama pewped all over the Metropolitan Opera stage last night at the performance of Tristan und Isolde, as soprano Deborah Voigt as Isolde was forced from the stage mid act from a sudden bout of nausea. A$$Press reports and La Cieca was there, and NYTimes is all over it.

It's cooties galore @ the shatteringly bright Dieter Dorn production, which has been problematic from the inception, with tenor Ben Heppner earlier bowing-out of the first four performances (citing a hardy virus), replaced first by John Mac Master and then last night's Gary Lehman. 

At around 9:30 pm last night, Voigt was reported to have fled offstage, leaving Levine and the orchestra in the lurch. Voigt's cover was OC aficionada, big-voiced Strauss and Berg and Wagner girl and all-out milf (I mean, check out those bikini pix) Janice Baird -- Queen Janice was thankfully was on hand, as Voigt had confided in Gelb earlier that day of stomach issues. Baird donned Voigt's costume and finished the five-hour opera without incident. Baird in Voigt's costume? In 48 hours, she'll be down on the bathroom floor! It's like having intimate relations with every singer that ever wore it! Ewwww!

*

We wish Voigt a speedy recovery and congratulate Baird for rushing to the rescue.

* (Mrs. Baird photo via www.janicebaird.com)

Gelb Totally Wooed Him With Free Swag

Sporting a Metropolitan Opera baseball cap from NYC's historic opera house, Josh Groban was out & about on Tuesday at one of Los Angeles's Urth Caffés. A nerd wearing a nerd cap is so nerdy it's totally meta.

Bradshaw Eats it on Metropolitan Opera Staircase

Sarah Jessica Parker ate it on the famed steps of NYC's Metropolitan Opera house during a recent photo shoot with photographer Annie Leibovitz. The images were taken to promote the upcoming "Sex and the City" movie, and will be seen in a future issue of Vogue. Go here for more photos. HA! OC has galloped up&down those stairs a million times in Prada and Gucci wedges and has yet to bust a$$. Bing's evil ghost pushed her down those stairs! He h8s Patricia Field as much as we do! Go BING Go!

A Barrel Of Laughs: Met Season 2008-2009

Everything you ever wanted to know about the '08-'09 Met season (and, also, stuff you didn't even know you wanted to know but you did) over at big sister La Cieca.

*update: the adventurous SarahB shares her wishlist*

(and the obvious caption for the photo above can only be, Why is this man laughing? OC's guess: they told him Evelino Pido will be conducting La Sonnambula)

Carmen @ The MET: The Donkey Made An A$$ of Himself

(Above: Olga Borodina as Carmen with Marcelo Álvarez as Don José in Bizet's Carmen @ the NYC Met Opera, February, 2008)

Steve Smith for The New York Times reviews the Metropolitan Opera's current run of Carmen, where a renegade donkey provided a bit of comic relief:

"As Micaëla, the soprano Maija Kovalevska confirmed the promise she showed in Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” last season. She had the requisite sweetness of voice and manner for the role, but demonstrated plenty of backbone in her Act III confrontation with Don José. (Her first few lines of the evening, alas, were covered by audience laughter after a donkey heeded nature’s call onstage — an occupational hazard in a Zeffirelli production.)"

We like that donkey's style. What a jacka$$. I hope some agent scoops up that rising star. One of the cigarette factory girls probably made the donkey smoke a rolled cigarette in an opening night hazing ritual, and he couldn't handle the nicotine. If I was a stagehand I'd be like heyll naw I ain't even tryin to hear that right now.

Graydon Carter vs. Peter Gelb: Who Runs It Better?

The Guardian interviews Editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, one of the top dawgs of the Condé Nast dynasty, Mr. Graydon Carter, who describes behind-the-scenes operations of VF what he imagines would be like running NYC's Metropolitan Opera. 

He says that running Vanity Fair, "[...] 'is like running the Metropolitan Opera in a way'. All those egos. Some of them schmoozers of the very famous, some of them off to Afghanistan for six months, Christopher Hitchens, for God's sake. How does he wrangle them?"

We're not sure what that's alla bout, but if anything, the impeccably-dressed Carter should take over the MET for at least a week, provided that he gives MET GM Peter Gelb a fashion makeover -- maybe bringing co-Condé-companion Anna Wintour along?

We couldn't help but notice Mistah Gelb at the Lucia di Lammermoor September 24, 2007 opening night of the 2007-08 Metropolitan Opera season (below with Netrebko)...who looked quite dapper, but was rocking a wildy familiar look to that of the 2006-07 season opener one year prior. 

(source)

Now here's the Gelbster one year prior at the September 25, 2006 Madama Butterfly opening night of the 2006-07 Metropolitan Opera season (with Mercedes Bass).

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GRAYDON CARTER GET UR A$$ OVER TO THE MET OFFICES POST HASTE! We have a fashion emergency!

"Nibbling, nibbling, little mouse! Who's nibbling on my little house?"

The November 22 edition of Panorama had a nice spread on the current "Hansel & Gretel" exhibition @ the Arnold & Marie Schwartz Gallery at The Metropolitan Opera House, which just opened November 16 (and runs through February 2008). 

The 40-odd artworks, penned/printed/drawn mostly from The New Yorker magazine artists in celebration of the anticipated opera @ the MET, Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, with a new production by Richard Jones, and featuring the unstoppable power team Christine Schäfer & Alice Coote in the title roles...& Jurowski conducting? *crickets*. La prima is on December 24! Merry xmas, motherfathers!

The New Yorker artists used the Brothers Grimm’s Hänsel und Gretel fairytale for inspiration, and they put up a nice thumbnail gallery of all the works here, but the best few were curated for the Panorama article.

 

omg xx teh powah of shakespeare's quills

Marcello Giordani as Roméo (singing for an ill Joseph Kaiser) to Anna Netrebko's Juliette last week at the NYC Metropolitan Opera's production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette...packin some heat under those turquoise pyjammies. marcello whar do u live i want to come say hello 2u.

Anna & Roburto 2getha 4eva xoxoxo

A totally tranked out Roberto Alagna trying to defend his innocence (and his hairy thighs) from Anna Bananna's impure thoughts & horny hands; and, a great shot of Anna Netrebko togged to teh bricks in Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette" the other night.

Saved the Best for Last

YOURE WELCOME