Opera Chic

Stand By Your Man: Rolando Gets Kinky In Salzburg

Even if preggerified Anna Netrebko had to pull out of her commitment for Salzburg's Roméo Et Juliette, the show goes on as planned with the heavily-hyped Nino Machaidze (Public Enemy's words of wisdom have seldom sounded more appropriate) stepping in to replace La Trebka, Rolando goes ahead as poor Roméo.

As we can see in the photo above, during rehersals he got himself involved in some kinkly role play operatic stuff, pretending that bewby Nino (funnily enough, a dude's name in Italian) is faraway Anna.

The duly sold-out production opens Saturday.

Just When You Thought Another Day Dawned, More Schönbrunn Fun!

O.C., like a flash of lightning striking down your computer *zoom zoom* has more media! After liveblogging the Schloss Schönbrunn concert from last night with the trifecta of *~opera superstars~* -- Rolando Villazón, Plácido Domingo, and Anna Netrebko -- O.C. made you a flickr stream of 73 images captured from her plasma television. Go here for the spoils of last night. I curated some of my favorites below:

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Villazón, Rolando vs. Denver, John: "Perhaps Love" Battle of the YouTubers

Plácido Domingo & Rolando Villazón sing John Denver's "Perhaps Love" on Friday, June 27, 2008 at Vienna's Schloss Schönbrunn.

Now how about Plácido Domingo and the main man himself, John Denver, in a 1983 duet? I dunno...this song sounds like the cheesy accompaniment to super-soft pr0n from the 1970s or something.

Villazon's Don Carlo: So Bad That It Made Pregnant Netrebko Drink

(photo via オペラ三昧イン・ロンドン)

The utter bores up at the Mayo Clinic have this piece of advice for pregnant women:

"One drink isn't likely to hurt your baby, but no level of alcohol has been proved safe during pregnancy. The safest bet is to avoid alcohol entirely."

"Consider the risks. Mothers who drink alcohol have a higher risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Excessive alcohol consumption may result in fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause facial deformities, heart problems, low birth weight and mental retardation. Even moderate drinking can impact your baby's brain development."

"If you're concerned because you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant or you think you need help to stop drinking, talk with your health care provider."

Admittedly, the Mayo Clinic is not a Russian institution.

And anyway if you're a star soprano you don't need to listen to no doctors. That is, if the yellow liquid photographed in pregnant (second to third trimester) Anna Netrebko's hands at the Covent Garden the other night was indeed alcohol, which we don't know -- you decide. More Drinking Pregka photos (very dark, they require a bit of levels work in Photoshop as we did with the photo above) at the Japanese site linked above, found via Intermezzo.

Anyway, what was the reason for Anna's need for a stiff one?

The beautiful tendency to live beyond one's means that has historically plagued so many opera singers seems to be going on at full blast (as we all know, la Scala, for their Daniele Gatti-conducted Don Carlo that will open the new season on Dec. 7, has decided to replace Marcelo Alvarez with Giuseppe Filianoti, not exactly the first name that comes to mind when thinking of the Don) AND Covent Garden, for their Pappano-conducted Don Carlo, has chosen Rolando Villazon, less than six months after Rolando's comeback from his sabbatical due to "exhaustion".

The Times:

"Villazón certainly radiates the aura of unstable volatility that Carlo needs, but his grainy voice sounds more and more pressurised."

The Guardian:

"The casting of Rolando Villazón in the title role attracted much of the advance publicity, but the glitzy tenor is the only disappointment. Some of his singing is outstanding but there's never a hint of emotional engagement and with an acting style that begins and ends at his eyebrows, mixing in a few semaphore-like flailing arms for good measure, Villazón reduces the character of Carlo to little more than a stroppy, lovesick adolescent, hardly hinting that there is also a political dimension to his personal tragedy."

Bloomberg:

"There was more superb singing, with Verdian panache. Then the problems started. Villazon began to wobble on his top notes, and a little catch appeared in his voice. The anxiety in the audience was palpable."

Look, now we need a drink, too.

The Doctor Is In: Rolando Villazon's Verdian Therapy

"Alfredo [in Verdi's La traviata] would say: 'Well I have this problem with my father'," he says. "Then Don Carlo is saying, 'Yeah but your father didn't marry Violetta', and Nemorino [from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore] says: 'I don't know my parents'. Then I join in and start speaking about myself."

Rolando Villazón: back from the burn-out

Villazon To NYT: I Have Those Monsters In My Jungle

”And I’m sick of those people who tell you, as though it’s the wisest thing ever, how important it is to learn to say no. I’ve said no to hundreds of things. It doesn’t take much learning.”

He's sick of it because he knows it's true. Even if it's apparently so easy to, he clearly didn't say "no" enough.

Had he done that, he wouldn't be out p1mp1ng just another record of Italian arias as hard as he is. Had he done that, he'd have been able to tell Deutsche Grammophon to ditch that Madrid massive "I'm Back, Yeah, I'm Back" press event and let him regain his voice -- and his serenity -- in peace. But they have to protect their investment, and he has to comply.

Rolando Guerriero: Now Monteverdi, Tomorrow (O.K., In 2014) Wagner

Our dear Rolandinho (Rolando Villazon for the general public) spake to the Spanish prensa and said to be "hungrier than before", then proceeded to explain more about the illness that destroyed half of his season last year ("The doctor said I had to rest for five weeks, it turned out to be five months... but the warrior who has lost a couple of battles finds greater riches than the one who has never been vanquished"), his newfound love for Monteverdi, his tentative plans to add, in six years time, Lohengrin to his repertoire, and even jokes about Anna Netrebko's pregnancy ("Now she's the one who has to cancel engagements!").

Our fave quote, the symbol of Rolando's generosity (a beautiful, dangerous gift), comes when an interviewer asks him how does he deal with Alfredo Kraus's old theory that a singer has to stash away one's vocal capital and only spend the interest, Rolando shoots back that "Yo canto con el capital -- I sing with the capital, and I do everything in my power to keep adding to the capital".

It's a high wire act, but OC cheers wildly for a singer with such a big heart.

The Familiar Landscapes of La Bohème. With (.) (.)

Below are some exclusive shots from the Austria set of director Robert Dornhelm's La Bohème, with *~opera stars~* Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón singing the leads. We all know we're gonna see this one, so here's a preview. Her cap in the picture above looks like a giant thong.

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SUM1s BEAN CRYI?NG!-->

No bebbe! Not in the snow! You'll get all chapped!

She DEYUHD!!!

:"[
 

R U Ready 4 The Trifecta? Villazón, Domingo, and Netrebko

Photos from a press conference in Vienna on Monday, February 10, between journalists and Rolando Villazón, Plácido Domingo, and Anna Netrebko. They were there to play nice for their upcoming June 27, 2008 concert which will be at Schloss Schönbrunn, with Vienna's Radio Symphony Orchestra. Anna, again, is rocking that "I'm So Over It" face.

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Rolando is sporting his Gerbil King Lemmiwinks knit polo. Heed my words, Lemmiwinks! Your time is running out! Make for the large intestine, all will be made clear then.

Anna & Rolando's Bohème Film

Anna & Rolando on the set of their new, Dornhelm-helmed (lol) Bohème film, with Tim Mangan crush Nicole Cabell as Musetta (hopefully louder than in Santa Fe).

Come for the Recital, Stay for the Award: Villazón’s Trailblazing Comeback

Rolando Villazón, who will be giving a recital in Paris on Monday, January 28 for an evening of Boito, Cilea, Gomes, Ponchielli, and Verdi, must make sure to pace himself well to the end.

Later that evening, he will be presented at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées with the chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his significant contribution to the arts.

This should be good practice for his upcoming award ceremony: Villazón was also named in the category of "Lyrical Artist of the Year" at the 2008 Les Victoires de la Musique, which will be handed out February 13 @ la Halle aux Grains de Toulouse, beating out Natalie Dessay and Sandrine Piau.

homeboi’s on a roll!

Rolando Villazón Is The Undisputable Comeback King (No Offense to LL Cool J); update, Rolando To Alternate With Alagna In Carmen At Liceu In 2009

(Above: Rolando takes his triumphant curtain call last night during his recital at Gran Teatre del Liceu. Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Scroll down for three more!)

Our recently reappointed tenor crush, Rolando Villazón, is wasting no time wooing back his smitten fans after his blazing reappearance across the European opera stages. Cold killin' it last night in Barcelona, Villazón defeated his demons and successfully vanquished any concerns that he wasn't up to snuff for a renewed recital season. Homeboi represent. Recital rapture!

The Opera Chic blog is proud to present firsthand accounts str8 from the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's opera house on the event of Rolando Villazón's comeback recital yesterday evening, Sunday, January 13, 2008, where two Opera Chic readers, yvette and pepa guardiola, generously shared their impressions and *squeals* photographs from that very special night, which sounded like a treat for the Barcelona fans. 

From pepa guardiola comes this awesome & thorough recap:

"Rolando came with plenty of energy and will, smiling and spreading his charm. The first act of the concert was devoted to Robert Schumann [Dichterliebe op. 48] -- which he sang all in a row with no interruptions!"

"He started out a bit nervous (he was swallowing a lot), but he went into a crescendo, and then his voice started to heal. I never thought the German language song cycles could sound so smooth! I’d say he feels very at ease with this repertoire, but the best was yet to come..."

"He came back after the interval for the popular songs: Francesco Paolo Tosti's Non m’ama più, Jules Massenet's Ouvre tes yeux bleus (incredible, and in a crescendo), and a bunch of Spanish popular songs [four songs by Fernando J. Obradors]."

"Then he felt a bit *coughy* and left the stage for a moment...he came back, and then left for 2 eternal minutes...and all of us start suffering! When he was definitely back, he touched his heart with his hand, and told the audience that he’d kinda preferred to have this inconvenience happen with us in Barcelona, for he felt he was at home!"

"There was a great applause, and from this moment till the end of the concert, he put his body and soul into his voice, almost as if it was the last concert and the last song he was to sing in his entire life, and he wanted us to be in paradise. He wanted to galvanize everyone's heart, blood, and bones...and then he smiled, and wanted to rectify."

"And then he said that on the contrary he WOULD have preferred this little disruption not to happen in front to Barcelona’s audience, because he loves Barcelona sooo much (you should have seen all the young and old women go crazy in the audience when he said that!) He’s a sweetie!"

"Then two bis: Muñequita Linda (a Mexican song); and then the final bomb (!un tiro mancino hehe¡), which was a special present for Barcelona’s people, a popular Catalan song called Rossó (which is the name of woman, and also a Maestro José Carreras favorite and a very dear song for us Catalans). When Rolando announced the song, the audience went wild, and I think there are still people on Las Ramblas clapping hands! Then after ten minutes of applause, Rolando ended up in tears, and the house was turned upside down. How generous voice and what a smart soul..."

And from reader yvette comes these lovely words:

"The recital was beyond words, so fine and moving! A beautiful Massenet, 'Ouvre tes yeux bleus', and to finish, a standing ovation for a special treat in Catalan called, 'Rossó (o Pel teu amor)" (pps: I've just checked in a book/record shop - the Catalan song is called Rossó and it was apparently recorded by José Carreras.)"

"Rolando's voice is so colorful and I was almost in tears when he started the Spanish part at the end. He had to stop at the end of the recital because he was too emotionally concerned, and said that in Barcelona, he felt, 'like at home,'".

Yvette also reported that during an after-recital autograph meet&greet session, wife Lucia was close to his side, and charmed the pants off the many adoring fans!

w00tles all around! w00t w00t! Let's hope somebody made some tite bootlegs in da :::files::

(Above: Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's opera house.)

(Above: Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's opera house and placard for Rolando's recital.)

(Above: Image courtesy of generous OC reader, yvette. Rolando post-performance signs a few autographs. He's da mang!)

VVVVV~~~~***UPDATE***~~~~~VVVVVV

Gtl torn t, aka Catalan Awesomeness, reviews Rolando In Barcelona. Where we learn that the "bittersweet" recital should have been broadcast on the radio but Rolando did not allow that, & that Rolando will alternate with Roberto Alagna in Carmen in July 2009 at Gran Teatre de Liceu.

A Chorus Of Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Villazon Back In Form, Part III

The verdict is out: Rolando Villazon is back from the darkness: let's all give him more time to fully recover his powers, but the passion is still there. And the voice, everyone who was there  at the Staatsoper agrees, is back.

Thus spoke those who were present last night: the OC correspondent who last night sent us -- many thanks! -- a quick recap for our breaking news post has now written more for us, and we happily publish that below. Another friend and reader who was there has sent a small review. And the German-language press, the AP, and even a French-language blogger have joined the fray. So please enjoy this Sunday recap of our dear Rolando's comeback.

Our correspondent from last night's post has more after a good night's sleep:

"It was difficult not to feel sympathy for Villazon when he came on stage because clearly something is still missing in his spirit, judging from his expression: the sad look in his eyes was maybe not exclusively connected to the acting in Werther, or so many of us thought. Never an imposing man, he also looked even more slender. The drab costumes didn't help either. The Viennese audience is not usually loud, the opposite is true, but you could sense everybody was rooting for Villazon. I don't think that a substandard performance would have been welcomed well just because people like him and he has had problems."

"He sang well, with that recognizable timbre of his, without forcing anything, even considering that he also risked being upstaged by a very convincing Sophie Koch, but he seems to have won against his demons, and the six months of rest certainly did benefit his voice. I think he's at 60, 70 percent of the pre-illness Rolando, but there's no reason why he shouldn't improve in the next several weeks. He was cheered very loudly, with real warmth. Everybody seemed to be happy for him, as if the possibility of his career ending in ruins had been canceled by the performance. Time will tell, he has a few engagements in the next few weeks. He seems to be doing OK. He probably needs more confidence. I was happy for him, he seems to be on the right track."

Another reader, and friend of OC, chips in:

"Here's my two cents on Werther: Rolando was wicked good, with a deeply moving performance, though he was a wee bit cautious, which wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been for a very loud orchestra. Now, a conductor's supposed to know that the Vienna opera pit is dangerously high up for singers. I was standing far back in the galleries, so view of Armiliato was obscured, but one of my pals down in the parterre said that Armiliato was waving his arms like 'he was trying to bring down an airplane!' ...not. cool. not. nice. Especially not when it's a singer's first night after a long break. According to my friend (who is a singer) this kind of conducting would be outrageous & nasty with any singer. (As far as I know, Armiliato's worked with Villazón loadsa times, so I'd never think they'd hate each other or anything...) Other than that it was a great night. Sophie Koch (who also was kinda loud but not so that it bothered) has these really 'RAH!' cool low notes that just made Charlotte so heartbreaking."

The delicious Paris-Broadway blog (French language):

"The Mexican tenor's nerves were quite evident, the audience gave him a warm welcome, a small ovation for his entrée en scène. His performance was generous and intense. One is impressed by his peculiar habits, his crescendos, his weird accents. I don't think he has recovered 100% his means -- and his nerves were palpable -- but his magnetism is undeniable."

The news agency DPA (German language):

"VIENNA -- By the end of the show, the audience was relieved. The sold-out Vienna State Opera was overjoyed for the Saturday evening comeback of Rolando Villazon: and the star tenor was visibly pleased, as if it were his first successful premiere."

"His partner, the radiant Sophie Koch happily hugged the Mexican singer after his long absence from a major opera house's stage. The audience of the Vienna State Opera knew the importance of the evening: would the 35 yo tenor, who had cancelled three dates in Vienna in 2007 due to vocal problems, experience a difficult comeback? As soon as he stepped onto that stage, the audience gave a long, warm applause of encouragement."

The Associated Press via sfgate.com:

"Although he appeared to be hitting his high B's, it wasn't always apparent — because when trying too hard to be heard, Villazon's lyric tenor just seemed to top out among all those potent brass passages of the second and third acts."

"Villazon himself appeared to be less than completely satisfied. Miguel Perez, who described himself as a friend of Villazon from Barcelona, said the tenor told him between breaks that he was 'very happy' with the first act but 'not very happy with the second.'"

"'It's a very emotional evening for him,' Perez told the AP."

"If so, Villazon put those emotions to wonderful use. On Saturday, his theatrics made him the quintessential Werther, the emotionally vulnerable, brooding young man who obsesses over a woman he cannot have, shoots himself — and dies happily in her arms after she confesses her love for him."

OC Review (from Milan) in two words: Bentornato Rolando!

***update***

(And why does OC like Rolando so much? Oh, long list: the red lamé jackets, the mechanical bulls, the pretending he's got to pee twenty seconds before he has to go out on stage just to terrorize everybody backstage; the unabashed passion for the music; the deeply, deeply moving sound of his voice; and because he makes us laugh and he also makes us remember that, yes, you can die for love).

***update***

Wiener Zeitung weighs in

BREAKING NEWS: Il Ritorno di Rolando, Part II: Villazon Is Back, Vienna Is All His

BREAKING NEWS

This just in from a reader in the Staatsoper's audience for Rolando Villazon's comeback after his 6 months absence from the stage: Vienna's haus packed to the rafters to see Rolando -- a slender, somewhat more haggard than we remembered Rolando -- demonstrated his beautiful musical gifts in Massenet's Werther under Marco Armiliato's baton (brother of supertenor Fabio): no cracked acuti, beautiful colors, no constricted breathing. The way Rolando used to sing.

Maybe he didn't smile as much -- butterflies in the stomach can torment big stars, too. But the six-month-long dark night of Rolando, as of today, is very likely over.

In the end, the Viennese audience gave the ovation he deserves. For his singing, and for his presence there.

Once again, bentornato Rolando.

****

Recap of audience/press/blogger reactions here.

Bentornato Rolando !!!

In Opera Chic's personal list of wishes for this brand new year, a healthy happy comeback of dear Rolando Villazon is up in the top ten. Welcome back, sweet Nemorino, we so need you on that stage.

Rolando: Manon Or Not Manon? Teh Final Answer. UPDATE: Rolando's Manager to Opera Chic: He Will Appear As Scheduled

Stay tuned for more info -- conclusive info, we hope -- Authoritative info on the persistent rumors of Rolando Villazon's imminent cancellation of his Manon commitment at Barcelona's Liceu.

Dominique Riber, Rolando's manager, just wrote to Opera Chic:

"I here confirm that Mr. Villazon is rehearsing in Barcelona and that he will appear as scheduled for the Manon performances at the Liceu".

Yay for Rolando!

Medical Bulletin: Alvarez, Netrebko, Villazon. UPDATE: NETREBKO OUT!

In one of the worst weeks ever for singer's tonsils, we've had the catastrophic series of defections for Un Ballo In Maschera at Opéra Bastille where Marcelo Alvarez and THEN his replacement Evan Bowers, "également souffrant", fell ill (hilarity did not ensue: Opera Chic's best get-well-soon wishes to Marcelito and Evan); then the (cancellation-prone) Rolando Villazon controversy, will he or won't he show up for Manon at the Liceu? The latest news, thanks to the detective work of Opera Chic's dear readers, seems to be that he hasn't showed up yet, after a cancellation last Sunday in Vienna (and another cancellation in Berlin in May), and he may show up late, but it's still all up in the air. And Anna Netrebko, who must have caught Rolando's kooties somehow, after all that singing together, will apparently call in sick for la prima of her Don Giovanni at Covent Garden (DG is the Bruce-Weber-model-lookalike Erwin Schrott) but she will available for the rest of her engagement. With thanks to our happy bunch of friends who provided the info, gtl torn t, nonothing, colibri, and the shy ones who e-mailed us.

^^^UPDATE^^^

Voce di Tenore has the ROH e-mail, also on musicomh.com:

"Russian soprano Anna Netrebko is unwell and therefore unable to perform the role of Donna Anna on the opening night of Don Giovanni on Monday 11 June. She has been suffering from an infection for several weeks and has not sufficiently recovered to sing the performance on 11 June. The role of Donna Anna will be sung by Jette Parker Young Artist Marina Poplavskaya on the opening night in addition to the performance she was scheduled to sing on 8 July."                              

Rolando Pulls Out Of Liceu's Manon AND LA NETREBKA PULLS OUT OF COVENT GARDEN'S DON GIOVANNI? WTF?

(Photoshop work by Opera Chic, original image courtesy of Russian Children's Welfare Society, Inc.)

Rolando Villazon, the man who stole Opera Chic's heart right out of Juan Diego's pocket, is rumored to be pulling out of Gran Teatre del Liceu's totally-sold-out-so-much-it-isn't-even-funnay Manon!!!

More about the Rolando mystery on gtl torn t

OMG UPDATE!

And our favorite spatz, La Netrebka, as reader "nonothing" suggests, may be pulling out of her Covent Garden Don Giovanni next Tuesday? wtf? Are they going fishin' together????

La Netrebka: "In Soviet Russia, Opera Sings You! Also, This One Time, At Band Camp..."

A momentarily clothed Anna Netrebko has a Marxist moment & tells the Tagesspiegel all about the joys of growing up as a singer in the USSR, and cheerfully adds that "honestly, we used to sing a lot of songs against you Germans, until 1986-1988 at least":

We had many musicals in Russia, I saw many of them. The words were nice and innocent, a bit naive, or story of heroes. We grew up in a different time. We had to read books about heroes a lot.
...
We sang all gathered under the flag, in the camp, we stood and saluted the flags, we wore red handkerchiefs around our necks... But it was fun. There was nothing mean about it, no aggression. We didn't know what had happened in the time of Stalin, we just knew that the future would be great. Everyone would be happy, no differences between the rich and the poor. That idea was fantastic, regardless of all the other stuff. The songs were great, too.

Unlike happy Rolando "I Sing In The Shower, In The Car, In My Sleep" Villazon, a man who says Anna "is so much different than I am" (huh), la Netrebka only sings when she's on stage (ie, when she gets paid for it): "I never sing at parties".

And let's hear it from Anna re: Rolando's recent candid statements about the ugly business of the marketing of opera singers:

Rolando Villazón said recently that he is not just a singer, but also a product. Do you feel that way, too, sometimes?

Sometimes? (laughs) But on the other hand I must say that without the media it would not be possible to reach the kind of fame you can reach nowadays. If you were however only a product, without charisma and talent, you'd disappear fast.

When asked a pretty loaded question about an old Cecilia Bartoli snark (a German paper had asked her if she'd rather have Netrebko's voice or her legs, and La Ceci very cannily and snarkily answered that you cannot separate the two), Netrebko responds calmly that she'd like to have Bartoli's energy. huh.

More later about a big Anna slam in the press.

Post Berlin Manon Chat

This afternoon, Opera Chic is thankful for purry little kittens, N.V. Perricone's Lip Plumper, Apple's sweet design team (we would die a lonely, virus-infested PC death without their visionary R&D), the freedom of the internets (obs), not growing-up in the 70s (ugh...all that hair), but especially to Arte for being like the coolest channel ever.

I know more than a few of you fellow Europe-dwellers had a Manon party last night, to celebrate the awesomness that is Rolando and Anna. OC dragged a few unwilling friends to piazza chic to join in the Arte's broadcast of the Berlin Staatsoper unter den linden's Massenet Manon la prima from April 29, 2007. (btw, following the link above: hitting refresh/F5 will rotate the promotion photo, showing at least a dozen different images from throughout the opera, Rolando and Anna included.)

What can we say? I'm sure it has already hit OperaShare so you can judge for yourselves: Rolando was terribly powerful, with the most heartbreaking acting thrown into the mix, and Netrebko was hawt and spicy in this stimulating (in more ways than one) and gilded  production.

Of course, OC watched with camera at the ready for delicious screenshots. Photo album with 20-ish more screenshots can be found here. Enjoy below:::

sms@ OC: *ring* hay OC whuts cookin?
OC: *um* home taking fotos of teh tv.
sms@ OC: i think i have the wrong # *click*

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Rolando Villazón: In Our <3's, On Our Television

Arte is in the process of unveiling a totally awesome Rolando Villazón week, and has been filling their time-slots with Rolando-heavy rotations. Sunday was a rebroadcast of the 2005 documentary, "une soirée à Berlin" by Daniel Finkernagel and Alexander Lück, which followed the tenor via brief interviews and an evening recital with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Highlights of the recital were “Ma se m'è forza perderti” from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, “Mamma, quel vino è generoso”, from Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, and a bis of “No puede ser” from Pablo Sorozábal's la tabernera del puerto.

The documentary starts as Rolando is in his hotel room shower, and the camera “breaks into” his room, pans around his personal effects, and eventually intrudes on him in the shower. And yes, he sings in the shower. The best part? While we’re sure his hotel room offers the same pick of pr0n, boring news, and lame soap opera, he has on his television the Disney/Pixar film “The Incredibles”.

In between each set, the camera follows him backstage where he plays comically with the camera – mugging into the lens and flexing his muscles, jokes with the sound technicians, and is giggly as a teenage girl. He’s beyond adorable, and OC ♥ it. What we love about Rolando (aside from the obvious) is that his face is like plastic: in some shots he looks smotheringly, smokingly hawt...whereas in other shots, his features are like in battle-mode trying to work harmoniously within their allotted confines beneath those eyebrows. He always keeps us guessing, and that's pretty kewl.

Saturday the Finkernagel-Lück team struck genius again with the 2006 one hour documentary of our favorite Mexican tenor titled, "Ein mexikanischer Traum". Rolando leads the film crew at a dizzying speed around the streets of Mexico where he follows the paths that he took as a child: he visits his old elementary school, chats with old friends, and goes to the church where he almost considered induction into the priesthood. Rolando fills the screen with his larger-than-life antics (and eyebrows) (and really colorful shirts). He challenges the sixth graders to a soccer match, jumps over parking cones, and has all the energy as a hyperactive kid who has raided a candy factory. The documentary even shows rehearsals from the now famous Villazón/Netrebko Salzburg La Traviata, and ends in a spontaneous sing-a-long with a Mexican Mariachi band. heh.

Some plasma screenshots are below, and the rest (20-odd) you can find here in this nifty little photo album.

(below: Rolando singing in the shower! He was singing Missy Elliot's "Work It", I swear to gawd!!)

Suddeutsche Zeitung: Anna + Rolando = Opera As Product

The Suddeutsche Zeitung on the superp0rny Manon at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin with Rolando Villazon, "at present time the leading Latin Lover of the opera" and "ornament" Anna Netrebko, conducted by "fierce" Daniel Barenboim:

"The performance... confirms what one observes often: ... the surrender of classical music culture to Pop, either covertly or openly. Because Pop means Glamour, Sex, business, advertisements, Pop is fundamentally about the ratings, not art. During the "Manon"... curtain opens and shows Anna Netrebko as an ornament, in front of the mirror... One wants to say, image is everything. Physical beauty, perfectly groomed surface have always been essential for the Opera diva."

heh.

And Rolando is also quoted as pointing out, "I am no longer only a singer, but a product, too". Tell it like it Rolando: Unibrows of the world unite!!!111

Lap Opera: Anna Pole Dances

Here's another interesting image from the Netrebko/Villazon hawt
hawt production of Manon. Much more on Angela -- because you know you want it -- coming l8r.

vvvvv xtra bonus vvvvv

Watch Villazón get tickled!

Reader Donna Anna sent us the YouTube link to an (edited) montage of the LA Opera Manon where you can see Netrebko in axxxion. At 1:52 minutes in, Anna starts working the pole. @_@

Netrebko + Villazon = Teh Seks

dear anna+rolando plz send me sum pix of teh h0t lurve u got goin on & i will *heart* u 4evar <3 <3 <3 *~*OC*~* ps that would rilly b teh :rawkz0rz: tia ^.^

Please enjoy some images from rehearsals of the forthcoming (this Sunday) Massenet's Manon at Berlin's Staatsoper. Daniel Barenboim will conduct this racy, triple-eKs er0tic hawt mess of a staging (although Netrebko is sporting an unflattering wig...homegirl must have borrowed it from Britney).

(vvvvvvvvvvvvv wtf???? vvvvvvvvvvvvv)

Rolando Villazon @ La Scala: Finalmente! Also, Alagna still suXx0r

Opera Chic's all excited because of the almost-summer weather these days, but also by the presence in town of her beloved Rolando "Electric Horseman" Villazon; he's in Milan -- no mustache, sadly -- to record a new recital with Orchestra Verdi (Italian arias, conductor Daniele Callegari), and he has given an interview to La Stampa.

Because OMGOMGOMG he'll finally make his Scala debut in L'Elisir d'Amore, with Anna Netrebko, in 2010 2008 2009! (he had previously turned down an offer for Tosca next year -- a bada§§ Barenboim/Bondy production, apparently because he didn't want to introduce himself to the audience here in such a complicated role. Opera Chic still thinks he'd be awesome as Magnum PI, by the way).

In the interview he mentions his excitement at his future debut here (blah, blah), and then talks about Alagna:

"I dont judge him. Roberto is a great artist and it pains me that he'll be remembered for that sad moment (ed: his leaving the stage) instead that for all his great roles. Anyway, I wouldn't have left the stage. We always have to remember that we are singers, not creators. We are not Verdi, or Puccini. Opera is more important than those who sing".

Re: his talent for drawing funny cartoons:

"It's a hobby and a hommage to Caruso, who liked to draw as well. But he was better than I am at drawing, too".

He repeats that he'll never sing Wagner (YAY!!!!!) because his voice does not agree with Wagner's music (don't worry: our ears don't agree with his stuff, either, Rolando) and then surprises us:

"There's a part I could sing but I chose not to: Pinkerton. Not because he's an a$$hole (literally: str0nz0 in the original Italian), the Duke of Mantua is one, too, but I still sing the part. No, Pinkerton is not my role because I just cannot find myself in him, I don't feel the role".

Two words, sweet Rolando: Magnum PI.

Rolando The Electric Horseman: This Is Not Going To End Well

This is not a OC trademark Photoshopped image. It is actually a genuine Reuters photo:

Last night "Sympathischer Tenor" Rolando Villazon, during the German television show 'Wetten, dass..?' rode a mechanical bull.

Hilarity ensued.

As our readers know, Opera Chic is a huge Rolando fan -- he's the man who singlehandedly brought back the awe-inspiring 1970s unibrow and our favorite candidate for a Magnum PI remake, too -- but somehow, somehow, SOMEHOW Rolando, we cannot imagine Alfredo Kraus doing the mecha bull thing on a German TV show.

But maybe it's just us.

vvvvvvvv UPDATE vvvvvvvv

I urge all Rolando fans to go to this direct shortcut here and play the, "Interview mit Rolando Villazón". In it, Rolando converses in easy German with the host, and then draws a wooly-haired self-portrait of himself...and a bull.

"Der Tenor über sein Album 'Gitano', die spanische 'Zarzuela' und sein Hobby, Karikaturen zu zeichnen"...

Happy Birthday Rolando Villazon.

Brindiamo!!!

Juan Diego Florez's triumph at La Scala did not make us forget our other boyfriend (sorry guys!), the universe's sexiest unibrow, the deliciousness that is Rolando Villazon.

We quote here the perfect comment from one of Opera Chic's dearest, Donna Anna:

FELICES CUMPLEANOS A ROLANDO!!! MAS ANOS DE CANCION, SONRISAS Y EXITO!!!!!

Rolando Villazon, Opera Cartoonist

The always omniscient Jessica Duchen alerts us that Rolando Villazon, opera's sexiest unibrow, between rehearsals, has also a penchant for drawing quirky cartoons.