Opera Chic

Lissner officially explains the reinstatement of Carsen's Candide at La Scala, as Opera Chic anticipated

From today's Corriere della Sera, an article discussing Candide: as Opera Chic wrote last night, Stéphane Lissner’s earlier statement that cancelled Director Robert Carsen’s production of Bernstein’s Candide at La Scala is no longer valid -- Canadian director Robert Carsen has agreed to make changes that will allow the opera (that premiered in Paris earlier this month) to be staged here.

Lissner (General Manager of Teatro alla Scala) had made his decision to axe the opera from the 2006-07 rotation at Teatro alla Scala two days ago, which Opera Chic had reported here.

In today's interview, Lissner defends his earlier decision to cut Candide, and points out that what works in Paris and London doesn't necessarily work in Milan, and that Carsen's Paris Candide just wasn't in line with his artistic vision of what is suitable for Teatro alla Scala. Why?

According to Lissner -- that of course, cannot really admit to having caved into political pressure (the staging makes fun of ex Italia PM Berlusconi, among other politicians, and while Berlusconi is not PM anymore, his party is still all-powerful in Milan) -- the production was initially axed because Carsen took liberties with the libretto that weren’t approved for La Scala.

Read on:

Lissner: “Candide” alla Scala se sarà revisionato da Carsen (Lissner: Candid will be at La Scala if it is revised by Carsen)

Il regista si è ditto disponibile all’operazione (The director said he was available to prepare [changes] to the operation)

L’allestimento di Parigi non è adatto a Milano (The staging in Paris is not adaptable to Milan)

The translation follows:

"Turned down the very first instance by Lissner, Candide could in certain reality, come back to La Scala. From New York came this announcement from the General Manager, after having spoken to Carsen via telephone. Carsen had always been loved by the Milanese audience, especially for his prior productions at La Scala of Dialogues des Carmélites and Kát'a Kabanová (the latter Opera Chic saw on March 22 this past year at La Scala, and thoroughly enjoyed it [despite Gardiner's pedestrian conducting]) (see image below), and told Lissner he is willing to assist Teatro alla Scala by substantially modifying the opera."

"Lissner said of Carsen, 'He proposed to me that we should meet together in January, and evaluate the opera together via DVD, scene for scene. I am a man of discussion, and a man of the theater. I decided to accept the offer. I know how much this opera is anticipated to appear at La Scala, and how disappointed everyone would be at its cancellation.'"

"The job ahead, however, is hefty and not easy, Lissner admits. He thinks back to the night of Santo Stefano (December 26, 2006), when he was with his 13-year-old son at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, in order to attend the popular opera, in which all of Paris was talking about, and an opera that was applauded by the public."

"Lissner said specifically of that night, 'I can confess, that to me, the opera was entertaining/enjoyable; but when it was over, my son whispered to me incredulously, ‘Dad, but is this show is coming to La Scala?’"

"'I tried to keep down a final giggle, and said to him, 'No, this opera won't come [to La Scala].'"

[The question is proposed to Lissner:] "But why then won’t Candide come to La Scala?"

[Lissner responds:] "Because it doesn't fit into my line of what is good for La Scala. At this point it comes down to an agreement between tradition and modernity. And I didn't make this decision because of the famous scene with the heads of state in their underwear. Simply, I made it for a load of other reasons; more specifically is that Carsen had made changes to the libretto. He added allusions and some situations in a style that just do not conform with those of La Scala."

[The question is proposed to Lissner:] "A good example of this may be the harsh jokes towards the church or the pedophile priests?"

[Lissner responds:] "I don't want to get into the details. I knew that people were saying that we must not censor things, and other such nonsense, but it’s not really like that at all. Candide is known to be a subversive work, and Carsen is truly an individual who is able to capitalize on that spirit. I knew this well [when he was hired for the job]. But whatever works at London and Paris for Carsen, is not necessarily successful at La Scala. I want to open La Scala to new ideas, to a diverse public, but without giving the impression of instigating controversy and provocation."

"Carsen said that he was disappointed and surprised at the decision, but is able to modify his opera."

I can't wait for the January tête-a-tête behind closed doors! Opera Chic promises to report all the details!

BREAKING NEWS: CANDIDE DIRECTOR CAVES IN, WILL KILL POLITICAL CONTENT

OPERA CHIC EXCLUSIVE! PLEASE CREDIT OPERA CHIC!

No dancing Berlusconis, no horny priests, and less pacifism for La Scala's forthcoming Candide. Opera Chic has just heard that a few hours ago, Teatro alla Scala General Manager Stéphane Lissner had a very tense phone conversation with Candide Director Robert Carsen, and Lissner's hard-line Draconian rule seems to have WON THIS ROUND.

Rumor has it that Carsen has privately agreed to make some editorial changes and cuts to the controversial parts of the opera that Lissner has deemed "unbecoming" of Teatro alla Scala's artistic direction, in exchange that Lissner will void and retract last night’s decision to drop the opera from the 2006-07 season. (Opera Chic had reported early last evening here and here when Lissner had axed Carsen's Candide from the current La Scala season.)

Opera Chic can only assume that Carsen sucked-up his artistic vision and caved to the demands of Lissner because he did not want to:

a) permanently ruin his very lucrative (the budget for his July 2006 Candide at La Scala exceeds 1.5 million dollars) relationship with the theater for possible future productions.

b) renounce the obvious media exposure that Candide at La Scala will bring him.

Anyway, despite obvious political pressures, Carsen's Candide will be reinstated (albeit, a slightly compromised, G-Rated version) in the Teatro alla Scala program rotation for the 2006-07 season.

vvvvUPDATEvvvv

Carsen's un-edited, French version of Bernstein's Candide, will air in January 2007 on ARTE Channel, which is part of the European satellite package (I get it via SKY here in Milan). The air-date is very soon: it is scheduled for Saturday, January 20 at 10:10 pm. OMG I'm so rescheduling my Saturday night plans! Party at my house!

Also of note is American blogger "Of the Kosmos", who is living in Paris, gave a brief review (in progress) of Carsen's direction of Bernstein's Candide, after attending the show at Théâtre du Châtelet earlier this month.   

celeste aida requiescat in pace

(btw, If you are looking for the BREAKING NEWS that Opera Chic reported from early last evening, where La Scala General Manager Lissner cancelled director Robert Carsen's upcoming production of Lenny's Candide, click here and here.)

The moment has arrived for the final judgment of the penultimate Celeste Aida! The one that would make even Maestro Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi pewp his pants!

In addition to the marvelous comments, Opera Chic had a few thought-provoking write-in ballots that will remain anonymous (as was requested), but I will recap the #1 super awesomeness that converged.

From the plucky cj quinn:

1. Bjoerling in the studio, 1936 (mp3 file here)
2. Del Monaco live in Tokyo, 1961 (mp3 file here)

From the lovely Crew "It has to be Jussi Bjoerling...For me!" Mantle:

Jussi Bjoerling 1955; Jon Vickers 1964; Jose Carreras 1980; Placido Domingo 1974; Richard Tucker 1955; Franco Corelli 1976; Carlo Bergonzi 1975; Del Monaco 1951 LIVE Mexico City.

From the brilliant Fignaz:

1. Bergonzi Verona 1966 (youtube link here)
2. Bergonzi Tokyo 1971 (youtube link here)

And then a super-saturated file of Celeste Aida (rapidshare zip file here) containing: Alagna (Copenhagen 2005 & 1998 studio with Abbado); Bjoerling (In Swedish, 1936); Martinelli (Met 1937); Gigli (Covent Garden 1939); Tucker & Toscanini (1949); Georgi Nelepp (In Russian 1953 studio); Del Monaco (Met 1953); Bergonzi (2 performances, Met); Corelli (5 performances, Met)

From the gentle Mimi: a vote for Franco Corelli

From the sweet Paul Velda: a vote for Plácido Domingo

Well, Opera Chic has a dark horse in the running, and has thus chosen the warm and elegant crescendo that emits from Alfredo "Werther" Kraus! His Celeste Aida plucked from the Orfeon Records recording of Alfredo Kraus Sings Operatic Arias I! I LAV EET SO MUCH!

But really, in the humanitarian spirit of the holiday, love thy neighbor/blogger, I declare this contest.......a TIE! EVERYONE WINS! PWN PWN TAKE THAT U NEFARIOUS & INADEQUATE TENORS!

Therefore, in the next half-hour (coda: unless there is more breaking news from La Scala), I will email everyone who participated in the contest with a super h0t, super exclusive, half-nekkid picture of Bolle (preview: LO-OK left). It may even melt your inbox (if you know what i'm sayin).

In the meantime, please enjoy the more tepid images of Bolle above and below, and thanks again to Crew Mantle for suggesting to me this competition. Truly, this was a contest worthy of kings.

i am teh highlander. there can only be one. Carlo Maria Giulini Still RulZ Milan

(If you are looking for the latest-breaking Teatro alla Scala news, go here  and here for the most recent thang: Robert Carsen's production of Lenny's Candide ousted from its future billing at Teatro alla Scala.)

My dear lovely readers, how I've missed you all! I shall nev4r abandon you again!

This Christmas holiday, Opera Chic found herself among gracious company in Cortina, Italy, high on the fresh and frigid Dolomite air, wrapped in the warmest of warm M. Bardelli cashmere, and practicing her (horribly rusty) German.

I hope that everyone's holiday wishes came true and you were all treated to a lovely end-of-the-year orgy of food and gifts. My Xmas gifts were pretty :coal: because I got a wii, an xbox 360 *and* a ps3. ha ha j/k.

One of my actual, IRL, for real gifts was the Fall CD release (from BBC Legends) of Giulini's London Philharmonic performances of Hindemith, Dvorak, and Beethoven. After just one listen, it was apparent that Giulini successfully washed each performance in that dark, creamy, emo sound that only he was capable of mastering. And while I enjoy Giulini's embrace of symphony, I am more about his opera, and his recordings get heavy rotation in the Opera Chic house. Favorites? Giulini's 1961 EMI Le Nozze di Figaro with Taddei, Moffo, Schwarzkopf, and Cappuccilli; his 1955 EMI Live La Traviata with Callas and Di Stefano; and his 1982 Deutsche Grammophon Live Falstaff with Bruson, Nucci, and Ricciarelli.

Giulini's presence remains palpable throughout Milan (especially nella zona where I live, which is coincidentally where Giulini himself lived for decades), and his reputation as an enormously talented and distinguished gentleman continues. After Giulini retired, he devoted his leisure time to instructing the young musicians of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, which is comprised of the student orchestra that hails from Conservatorio di Milano. He doted on them sweetly with rehearsals and master classes. His care towards nurturing the students was lauded and recognized.

One of the stories from the witnesses who were with Giulini during his later years is that during his very last rehearsal with the laVerdi Orchestra (before he passed away in the summer of 2005), he took more than twenty minutes to individually tune each players' instrument within the orchestra. Aside from watching Barenboim with his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (I was at the September 1, 2006 concerto at La Scala, where Barenboim individually congratulated each and every player for close to fifteen minutes during the final applause), there is no other conductor that doted so lovingly and with such great patience on their orchestra.

Giulini perpetuates an honorable legacy throughout the music scene in Milan, where he has been duly sanctified; and if you have the occasion to go to Auditorium di Milano, you can find in the lobby, both his first violin (it's so tiny!), along with one of his treasured batons that he donated (and then came back to the foundation via auction) to the Auditorium. Here's an image of his baton from the lobby, which I took almost one year ago, while I was in attendance of the Capodanno concerto at Auditorium on Largo Gustav Mahler for the Blomstedt Beethoven's Ninth.

Giulini wrote: Ho sempre avuto un legame affettivo e scaramantico con le mie bacchette. Ne ho possedute poche, ma le ho custodite con grande cura ed attenzione. Questa è una di esse.

Ne faccio dono all’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi con l’augurio di continuare l’importante lavoro di divulgazione musicale in questa Città e nel mondo.

C M Giulini, Marzo 2004

Translation: I have always had a link of love/affection towards my batons, as well as attributing to them the power of lucky charms. I have only had a small amount [of batons], but I have kept them each with great care and attention. This is one of those.

I give it to the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi with the wish that they continue the important work of spreading music in both this city and in the world.

C M Giulini, Marzo 2004

How kewl is that? Here is a picture of his violin, but the quality is pretty shady. But nevermind that...I will be returning to Auditorium this upcoming Capodanno concerto to hear Maestro Slatkin conduct Beethoven's Ninth, and will snap a better picture...

Anyway, before I left Milan for the holiday, I made a trek down to the Teatro alla Scala bookstore, and witnessed that lo spirito musicale of Giulini still thrives.

The La Scala bookstore contains two large albums, filled with 8x10 glossy press-shots of the musical geniuses that have graced the La Scala stage, that one can buy and frame. Between the portfolios, filled with popular artists, conductors, and ballet dancers, there remained only one photograph that had been sold out. That glossy was the capture of Maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. FINITA!

Another marvelous trinket this holiday season was a gift subscription to Classica satellite channel so during this long, grey, cold winter, I can watch awesome things on the plasma. Already, the channel is teh r0x0r.

But they've been looping Nikolaus Harnoncourt's conducting of Nozze di Figaro from earlier this year at the Salzburg Festival, and aside from Ildebrando D’Arcangelo and Anna Netrebko, it's an embarrassing disaster. Tommasini panned it in a NY Times review, as did every music critic in Italy when it ran. And I can bear witness that it really does suck.

Before I embarked on the journey to the heart of the Dolomites, I caught the ending of a HD Renée Fleming holiday special, and she's all decked-out in festive gear. She was singing among a nativity scene, but I was too lazy to check the credits. Here's a screenshot:

Okay, luckily during my holiday, Alagna didn't show up in Milan playing his tiny little violin that weeps canzonette about his low blood pressure and conspiracy theories. I returned to Milan full of frico, crespelle, and stinky truffles. And a new pair of puma kicks to herald a newly-invoked (and much needed) schedule of exercise.

Candide OUT!

(image taken from IHT article linked in post below)

OKAY GUYS< WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

TEATRO: LA SCALA CHIUDE LE PORTE AL 'CANDIDE' (Teatro alla Scala closes the doors on Candide)

Milano, 28 dic. (Adnkronos) - Il Candide non andra' in scena al Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Nonostante l'opera di Berneist fosse gia' in cartellone nella stagione in corso, il Sovrintendente e Direttore Artistico del Teatro, Ste'phane Lissner ha ritenuto l'allestimento dell'opera (per la regia di Robert Carsen) ''non in linea con la produzione artistica scaligera'' ed ha dunque deciso di rinunciare alla coproduzione.

Translation: "Candide will not come on stage at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. Despite the fact that Bernstein's opera was already in all of the posters/media for the season that is already going-on right now, GM and Artistic Director Mr. Stephane Lissner has stopped all rehearsals and preparations of the opera (under the production of Robert Carsen), saying, 'It is not in line with the artistic production of La Scala,' and has therefore decided to abandon the production."

No doubt this will be making the news in the next few days. Lissner rules with an iron fist, and Lenny's ghost will not feast at La Scala.

vvvvUPDATEvvvv

The buzz here towards why Lissner dropped Candide (aside from cowering away from an already controversial new direction)? Apparently Lissner was in Paris earlier this week and saw the opera at Théâtre du Châtelet. However, rumor has it that Robert Carsen had surreptitously added some provocative and polemic speeches that were not in the original libretto by Bernstein, Hellman, Latouche, and Wilbur. NAUGHTY!

It's an Opera Apocalypse these days...

Breaking La Scala news!! (NOT about Alagna)

Opera Chic has just learned that Leonard Bernstein's Candide, which was to be heralded with an exciting new staging for the upcoming 2007 season at Teatro alla Scala by Robert Carsen, has been cut and cancelled from the 2007 program.

Background on the new production from La Stampa is here: La Stampa only wrote about the upcoming production a few days ago, with a broad review (btw, the image above is also taken from La Stampa).

The reason? GM and Artistic Director Stéphane Lissner made the decision to cut it after an “anti-Berlusconi” scene in Robert Carsen’s new production was drawing too much criticism. You can see in the picture that Carsen places Berlusconi in the company of other international leaders as Bush, Blair, Chirac and Putin, all appearing drunk, clothed in only underwear and neckties...and apparently Putin vomits after the troop arrives in Venice, then parties at a casino. heh.

The June 20th La Prima was supposed to include John Axelrod conducting. Candide was supposed to be sung by William Burden, and Cunegonde by Anna Christy.

More from Opera Chic as the story continues to break...

UPDATEvvvvv:

An article in English here from the International Herald Tribune that gives great background to Carsen's very controversial production.

The native-Canadian Carsen has tagged his new production of Candide with an overt anti-United States bias, stating:

"I felt we could parallel Candide's loss of optimism and the way the world has lost its optimism about an idealized America since the death of John F. Kennedy," Carsen said in a telephone interview just hours after his production was given a rapturous reception at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday evening [after the premiere in Paris]."

Celeste Aida: MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP!!

One of my most favorite "internets colleagues" that I've had the pleasure to acquaint with via the "Alagna Incident", gentilissimo Crew Mantle (hay HAY hay), suggested that to cleanse the Celeste Aida "ear-worm" of late from our collective heads, a bit of a contest is in perfect order.

Therefore, Opera Chic is very curious to hear about your favorite Radames tenor in his best performance singing Celeste Aida.I personally plan on scouring YouTube in the next few days to gather some of the gems. So, if you find yourself with some extra time over this long holiday spell, let's see what you've got in your cache! Either plop the YouTube linkage into the comments of this post, or send me an email and I'll post a thread just after Christmas to recap and declair a WINNER! +20 POWER UP UR LEVELS AND WIN THE GAME!

To wit, LET THE CONTEST BEGIN!

btw, the winner gets a high-res digital portrait of Roberto Bolle, certain to satisfy the pickiest of both boys and girls...

Also, another dear reader took my annoyance of the cranky lawyer that blocked my view from the palco during Friday night's Aida to another level: OMG THE TOURIST GUY WAS AT LA SCALA!?vvvvvvv

 

Let me show you some videos. Let me show them to you.

Walter Fraccaro Sings Celeste Aida

[ed: The original video of Fraccaro singing Celeste Aida was removed by request of Teatro alla Scala. Instead I bring you Excuuuse Me, Princess from TEH LEGEND OF ZELDA omg omg JOKES A' PLENTY]

Remember: WARNING #1: For Celeste Aida, Opera Chic was (comfortably) crammed into a palco box with three complete strangers, and she therefore had to be super-discreet about filming, in order to supersede the rules to bring her lovely readers such rare footage. Unfortunately for this, Fraccaro's first few (okay, lots of) bars of the aria did not survive my stealth-itude. o--o

Roberto Bolle Dances Aida's Marcia Trionfale

[ed: instead of witnessing the thrill of Roberto Bolle's magical thighs, Teatro alla Scala asked the Opera Chic blog to remove the Bolle video. Instead, enjoy WENG WENG! THE TINY PHILLIPPINO 70s AGENT OF THE LAW!!! IT NEVAR GETS OLD!]

Remember: WARNING #2: For Bolle’s Marcia Trionfale, Opera Chic did not unload her 1GB memory card since vacationing in Vienna this Fall, and therefore, her bootleg camera p00ped-out about three-quarters into the dance. Which sucks. A l0t. c*ck c*ck c*ck. But hey, it’s all bootleg anyway, so TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET, SUCKAS! ^________^

Fraccaro RAWKS TEH CASBAH

(Act I of Aida, with the shadow a washed-up lawyer that was sitting clumsily to my left, which will now haunt each successive shot from the opera. *.*)

Opera Chic freely admits that December 7th’s La Prima of Aida was just so exciting and stimulating – the marble lobby of La Scala filled with the exotic perfume of six-century-old European dynasties, the damp leather of Regent Street Church's shoes and moist Valentino black mink stoles mixing in an intoxicating scent of old and new money – that it was almost impossible to distinguish and segregate the subtleties of the actual opera from the illusion of such an evening. For this reason, I am happy that last night, I was able to revisit and revise my initial impressions of the Zeffirelli/Chailly Aida that is currently showing at Teatro alla Scala.

Minus the insane queue to get into the theater, the red carpet, the drizzle, the press, the photographers, the police, the blockade of black Mercedes and surly bodyguards/drivers, the omnipresent maze of iron stanchions, the protestors in Piazza della Scala, and the gawkers, last night’s Aida was still pretty kewl.

This performance was attended by a crowd of fairly equal Milanese echelon, as in, “I’m so rich that I don’t need to know what money is, or even how it works,” along with the entire Missoni clan, including the gaggle of brunette grandkids. Black is really the ultimate rule for these sorts of events, so I went rather incognito in all-black again: black stockings with Louboutin black stilettos, a Jil Sander black cashmere shell dress (I have the same style in like three colors *sticks out tongue*), an Aspesi black 7/8s feather jacket, and I threw all my crap in a black Prada rectangular theatre clutch. This time, I did indeed bring one of my cameras, and I did indeed use it. At La Prima, there was just no way that a camera would even squeeze into my Nancy Gonzalez clutch, better yet knowing that I would not find the plebian nerve to use it in front of so much beefy security and influence.

Into the fray…

(Act II, with the lawyer head again.)

Chailly again, was scruffy and constantly grinning. On the second listen of Chailly, I found his sound rather muddy, cloudy, and murky, with an overall muted interpretation. It wasn’t necessarily sluggish or lethargic, but it was very opaque. Violeta Urmana’s Aida was rather weak last night. I still enjoyed the soprano, with her capacity to sing such sweet notes and then rip into the audience, but she was a bit underwhelming last night. Ildiko Komlosi as Amneris again, completely stole the show. She sang with such fluidity and emotion.

(The lady-bath scene, minus teh sex-ay.)

Oh Fraccaro, how you held the opera together with your bland but adequate stage-presence, singing Radames in your practiced Verdi tenor. I just don’t find Fraccaro all that exciting. He sang well. Um, yeah…If you could just go ahead and make sure you sing in Alagna’s place from now on, that will be great. And uh, yeah, mmmm, Okay?

Last night, Celeste Aida did not get booed, but this Opera Chic was beyond tempted to start mooing her dissaproval, and almost had to clamp her hands over her mouth to quell the urge! Scheduled to sing Ramfis was Orlin Anastassov, but was instead replaced by Giorgio Giuseppini; but who really cares. I mean, honestly, the night was about Celeste Aida and Bolle’s bolle.

(The scene of pre-Bolle appearance, right before the first titanic intermission.)

Again, Frengo managed to pack every single packet of free space on the stage with some sort of golden thing or a chorus/ballet member. It is a true orgy for the eyes. Incense was lit again on stage, and I went home with my hair reeking of sweet smoke, that came out easily with a lathering of kiehl's.

Which brings us to Bolle and his golden thong. I’m sorry, but when you see him on the stage, he is a monster. How did I not report on that before? I think I was more in shock from his bare, tight a$$. Bolle is just a giant. A giant, flesh-colored, beast of a man. Is it because the other ballerinas are so petit? I have no idea, but at any given time, he is just freakishly larger than anyone else dancing on stage. He is impossible to misidentify. Anyway, I have had the pleasure of seeing Bolle recently on the Milan streets (in Corso Garibaldi, he was dressed rather sporty, wearing grandpa-hip black New Balance sneakers, khakis, and a tragically unstylish black pea coat/overcoat), and he doesn't seem as incongruently large as when he is on stage.

(The oasis: Fraccaro and Urmana)

Again, Bolle had a long long long applause for his dance. Alagna wasn’t kidding when he complained that the audience showed more love to Bolle than him, because we did it again. Anyway, we all felt that Bolle was deserving of it, seeing that we stared at his gigantic a$$ for the entire Marcia Trionfale. However, Bolle didn’t grace the stage during the final curtain call as he had for La Prima. Unfortunately. And luckily, Urmana’s heart has turned again to stone, and she didn't cry for the final curtain call. 

(The tomb where Fraccaro is doomed to join the company of adequate tenors)

This time around, the opera kind of dragged. Compared to the brilliance and excitement of opening night, the pauses and intermissions were just too omnipresent, and too anchoring. For La Prima, one actually looked forward to the long pauses (two separate five-minute pauses even before the first intermission, then one thirty-minute intermission, followed by a second forty-five minute intermission) so that we could see what celebrities and Milanese society had turned-up for the fashion show. This time, however, the opera didn’t even seem cohesive, more like a bunch of separate scenes woven together. Pretty lame. Muti's whole, "Graham Vick's Macbeth with a cube on stage" started to really make sense.

Okay, the two clips from last night are currently uploading on YouTube, and I will post an update when they are up with the URLs.

WARNING #1: For Celeste Aida, Opera Chic was (comfortably) crammed into a palco box with three complete strangers, and she therefore had to be super-discreet about filming, in order to supersede the rules to bring her lovely readers such rare footage. Unfortunately for this, Fraccaro's first few bars of the aria did not survive my stealth-itude.

WARNING #2: For Bolle’s Marcia Trionfale, Opera Chic did not unload her 1GB memory card since vacationing in Vienna this Fall, and therefore, her bootleg camera p00ped-out about three-quarters into the dance. But hey, it’s all bootleg anyway, so TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET, SUCKAS!

Opera Chic Listens to Fraccaro So That You Don't Have To

This week's insane social engagements revealed a very dear and generous friend who gifted Opera Chic another ticket to attend tonight's Aida at Teatro alla Scala. Although I had already attended La Prima of Aida just two weeks ago, and was not really in need of a Zeffirelli-fix, I nonetheless graciously accepted the ticket (and no...I *didn't* try to scalp it for 3x the face-value...although for a moment, it was very tempting!).

Earlier tonight, I found myself at the theater snuggly ensconced with three various (but well-dressed) strangers in a palco box overseeing the lavish, claustrophobic Zeffirelli sets, and again, Bolle's glorious, tight a$$ (Opera Chic surreptitiously snuck a video of Bolle's dance to the Marcia Trionfale, which will be uploaded tomorrow with my review).

I am also able to report that Fraccaro, Alagna's Radames replacement, doesn't totally suck. He's not worse than Alagna, but not better. At the very least, his blood sugar seemed to be under control. He wasn't booed, and the loggionisti were polite and reserved (boring). Opera Chic has also (surreptitiously again) filmed Fraccaro’s Celeste Aida aria from tonigh's performance, also to appear on YouTube. Stay close!

Manon Lescaut in Barcelona: Now with more (.)(.)

Daniela Dessi and Fabio Armiliato in Manon Lescaut, currently at the Gran Teatre del Liceu Opera House in Barcelona.

A good look for Plácido

Plácido Domingo sings Emperor Qin in Tan Dun's The First Emperor at the NYC MET Opera, uniting China and building the Great Wall.

Oh Domingo, what *can't* you do? The whole opera world needs you, Plácido "Plácido Domingo" Domingo.

"There are few men who can truthfully say that their eye made contact with the right nipple of Maria Callas"

British author and journalist Frank Johnson died on December 18, 2006 at age sixty-three after a seven-year fight with cancer.

Johnson attended the now-infamous Sunday night performance of Zeffirelli's Aida at Teatro alla Scala, where Alagna was booed-off the stage; after the performance, he filed his story, and checked-into the hospital where he passed away a few days later.

The Telegraph recently ran an article that highlighted Johnson's career. Johnson leaves a wealth of anecdotes, including this gem about his unique experience with Maria Callas and her bust of steel:

"At the age of 14 Frank appeared on stage at Covent Garden in Norma alongside Maria Callas. Children's parts at the Royal Opera House were taken by pupils at Frank's school, and he and a classmate (Arthur) were recruited to perform as Norma's two sons. Johnson recalled the experience in a hilarious article 25 years later:"

"Arthur and I learned with some consternation that a woman was coming to Covent Garden who was known as 'Opera's Tigress'. Furthermore, she had been in a 'storm' in New York. She had got the sack for a baritone who had held a final note longer than her in a duet. The latter was untrue, as the books now make clear, but that was no good to Arthur and me at the time."

"Of the performance, Johnson went on: 'I could not forget that when Callas bore down on us with the knife, her nostrils flared; that when, dropping the knife, she repentantly clasped us to her bosom, her perfume smelt like that of an aunt who was always kissing me; and that at the first performance on February 2 there penetrated, into my left eye, the tip of the diva's right breast, which partnership remained throughout the subsequent duet with [Ebe] Stignani...there are few men who can truthfully say that their eye made contact with the right nipple of Maria Callas.'"

Esa-Pekka Salonen is teh mang.

Last weekend, in the middle of the Alagna circus, I was treated to a beautiful respite: a concerto on Saturday night, December 16, 2006 at Teatro Regio di Parma, situated about one-and-a-half hours via car from Milan center. The occasion was to watch Finnish Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Off to Parma! Teatro Regio di Parma is refreshing because it is finally an opera house in Italy that is found without taking one-hundred wrong turns down convoluted, seventeenth century sidewalks. It is ostentatiously situated on the right-hand portion of the main road; the first street you encounter when you enter the closed, turreted city.

Salonen started the evening with Haydn’s Symphony No. 7 in C major, "Le Midi". The core of orchestra on stage was two-dozen light strings, two bass/cello, two oboe, and one horn. Oh yeah...and a tiny tiny baby piano - the fortepiano – that I thought would be played by like a little baby bear cub in a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, or something equally absurd/adorable. Seeing such a small contingent of musicians, but hearing such an omnipresent sound was incongruent. The tone Salonen coaxed from the orchestra was gorgeous, light, and delicate, but powerful.

The next work was Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht Opus 4, which added a larger contingent of strings to the stage. Again, Salonen conducted deftly, with the same delicate, yet powerful tone. His conducting style was very polished. He swayed his body in very rhythmic, hypnotic swirls of motion that never appeared sloppy or careless. It was during the Schönberg that Salonen showed his talent at sustaining almost a whisper of pianissimo without letting the orchestra collapse. He can really tease-out a sustained breath of the orchestra that is just barely there, but is in perfect control. It was magnificent.

After the intermission, came Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (Quadri di una esposizione) [ed: orchestrazione Maurice Ravel]. What a mess. Okay, to be fair...not Salonen’s version. But P@E is just a chaotic jumble of instruments that makes me feel like I have Tourettes Syndrome. 

Since I was seven-years-old, and dragged in white, baggy tights and faux-rabbit fur jacket to the New York Philharmonic’s Young People's Concerts by my parents, I’ve tried to avoid Mussorgsky’s P@E. DAMN YOU SALONEN! It is the underlying didactic nature of the work always has me cringing (btw, for any of you readers who used to attend the NYPYPC when little: for the “Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks”, I clearly remember some very bootleg-looking white cue-cards, which were held by members of the orchestra, displaying very crude and basic magic-marker drawings of cracked eggs with chicken legs sticking-out. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?)

Anyway, Salonen lead the Philharmonia wildly through Mussorgsky, but I felt that after the two previous works of heavy string action, he was not able to control the brass and percussion very well. The sound became a bit too bright and brash at times. But all in all, it was superb. Sadly, the audience lost its s**t at the applause and cheering afterwards, regardless of the fact that the Schönberg and Haydn were executed much more deftly.

The encore was announced by Salonen in very confident Italian, which he had learned twenty years ago when he lived in Milan, studying with late Italian composer Niccolò Castiglioni.

The first encore was Sibelius’ Valse Triste, which was fitting, seeing that Salonen graduated from the Sibelius Academy with a degree in horn and conducting. The second encore was Stravinsky’s Galop. yay. weeeee!

(btw, for all those that expressed interest in the hawt, blond cellist stading by il Maestro, the Philharmonia might have some clues...)

(leaving/entering the city of Parma through the fortifications is pretty kewl)

Muti doesn't take sass.

An insightful article in the International Herald Tribune today discussed the psychology behind booing and had an anecdote about Maestro Muti’s reaction to the loggione's antics.

In 2000 at Teatro alla Scala while Muti was conducting Il Trovatore, the loggionisti booed his [and ultimately Salvatore Licitra’s] interpretation after Act III. Muti responded to the booing by not ducking his head under the orchestra pit, but by turning towards the audience and saying, “The opera house is not a circus”. Muti responded to the sass…by turning-up the sass. He’s sassy.

UPDATE: David Patrick Stearns at the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article on Alagna's recent kerfuffle at La Scala. His vague theory behind the booing is a bit of a stretch for me, stating that the disapproving jeers stemmed from years of hatred that simmered...and finally exploded towards the Alagnas (basically, retribution for bad behavior and h8rs who are jealous).

Opera Chic Catches Muti Fever

 

(Click here to reach the photo album with eleven images taken from the performance.)

Opera Chic wasn’t living in Milan yet during Maestro Muti’s tumultuous reign, but she has been privy to all of the stories:

The (mostly true) urban legends about his own office at Teatro alla Scala having been designed to be twice as big as the GM’s; about his thinly-veiled contempt for both the orchestra, the critics, and essentially every contemporary conductor (excluding Carlos Kleiber); about his very public dissing of then-La Scala GM Carlo Fontana (a favorite pastime of il maestro was to mercilessly mock Fontana’s rudimentary English with grotesque and loud impersonations within the La Scala offices lol); about Muti having hired Karajan’s former butler for his own Salzburg villa, shortly after the maestro’s death; about the specific instructions that he gave the builders of his villa’s pool, demanding that it had to be bigger than the dimensions of Karajan’s; about his very badly-disguised hate for a universally loved and admired saintly conductor whose only crime was actually demanding – and obtaining – a higher conducting fee than Muti’s own; about his stubborn, sneering refusal to even entertain the possibility that the man who had conducted almost one-hundred times in Bayreuth could do Wagner at least as well as Muti himself could; about the endless constantly updated s**t-list and his sycophantic ass-kissers; about his bad moods, and his talent for needlessly alienating people who would otherwise had been friends and allies in time of needs; about his Napoleon-like sense of self-importance.

Well, Opera Chic has heard them all.

And after last night’s Don Pasquale, she *so* doesn’t care.

Young Muti, barely in his thirties, used to dazzle the most impressive audience with the beauty of his Donizetti (impressing Karajan himself), the great power of his Verdi (his Attila is awesome), and with his Leoncavallo (Opera d’Oro has a great 1971 Pagliacci).

Muti was the Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1973–1982. Then Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1980–1992. And ended his last appointment as Music Director of La Scala in Milan from 1986–2005. He's sixty-five years old, and he has finally stopped dying his hair jet-black [as last night was the first time I'd seen him sporting a lovely dark-gray tint instead of a shade more appropriate for Cio-Cio-San.]

A wonderfully intuitive conductor, he became an extraordinary Mozart conductor (especially the Mozart-DaPonte Italian operas, with the exception being his super-heavy 1995-1996 Masonic Die Zauberflöte overt with symbolism, and lacking in grace). He demonstrated great skill for Rossini, and his keen eye for interesting nuance (in his La Traviata, Violetta actually dies of true heartbreak, not of the lameness of the clichéd tuberculosis), which always kept things interesting.

But by the mid-1990s, things had started to deteriorate: trigger-happy in blacklisting singers and directors he either didn’t approve-of, or were seen as too “independent-minded”, he started to buy into the Messianic mystique his fans (in good faith) and lackeys (in bad) that were eagerly spreading everywhere. He started to obsess about traveling back in time, feeding his recalcitrant audiences a steady diet of the most obscure selections from Cherubini, Spontini, Salieri, and Gluck. Simultaneously, the number of world-class conductors appearing onstage at La Scala started dropping (for that he blamed his nemesis, the actual GM), the baffling decision to bypass the great Wagnerian Giuseppe Sinopoli for the Tetralogy (that he conducted himself with dubious results).

Those who have known him well during the Teatro alla Scala years acknowledge that his main problem may have been a lack of faith in his own intuition, his spirito musicale. He then decided to go intellectual, to go “deep” instead of doing what he knew he could do best – thus giving up on his facility for beautiful music. His talent for a light, driven sound that managed not to be shallow ended in the backseat. Muti wanted to be a thinker. Being a wonderfully musical conductor clearly wasn’t enough for him. That his many enemies were going to kick him out – the way Abbado was kicked out in ’86 – became all too clear. It was just a matter of time.

He is now a free agent, conducting in Vienna and Salzburg especially, with his beloved VPO. He says he loves his kids, Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini that he created from scratch, taking a high school band to a beautiful orchestra. He has other commitments, but he clearly belongs elsewhere -- maybe post-Barenboim Chicago, maybe Philly again? This Ravenna Don Pasquale clearly shows what a waste it is to keep this man in the provinces.

I arrived in Ravenna in a deluge of rain, and chose wisely to dress sensibly: Flat Prada black riding boots tucked into Agnes B black pants, a grey cashmere vest, a black James Smith umbrella, a Fay black windbreaker thrown over, a grey cashmere Marc Jacobs skull-cap and a Kate Spade nylon tote (hey, it was pouring). Being this as the first instance I’ve seen Maestro Muti conduct, I could barely take my eyes off him for the entire opera, at times forgetting to follow the singers on stage. He led not only the entire orchestra, but had complete, absolute monopoly over the entire stage direction, manipulating the chorus and singers with something as insignificant as raising a single eyebrow. Dance, puppets! Dance! He was extremely precise, calculated, and professional, and replete in full Muti-idiosyncrasies. He pwnd the entire show.

He split the sparse, young orchestra into the strangest configuration, with woodwinds in the final row, sharing strata with percussion. Brass was stationed the last row on the right, with the Basses on the far left, and lighter strings filling-in the entire center.

Muti’s characteristic galloping was in full-effect, as he ripped through the score at breakneck pace. He stayed light, crisp, and driven, but never shallow. Although Donizetti’s Don Pasquale becomes trifling in parts, Muti dexterously remained forceful yet somber, which balanced-out the levity. The orchestra never once collapsed or vanisehd, but unfortunately, the singers just couldn’t keep-up with Muti’s strict demands. This was one of the first instances where the orchestra completely out-shone the singers, as Muti's sound soared above the heads of the performers.

Claudio Desderi sang Don Pasquale, and although proved himself as a playful actor, his exhaustion was apparent (he had previously sung in the December 14, 16, and 17th productions), and he was stripped-thin, basically performed recitative, while simultaneously falling behind Muti’s conducting the entire opera. What he did provide was an anchoring sense of seniority, as the rest of the cast was comprised of thirty-somethings, adding credibility to the libretto.

Mario Cassi’s Dottore Malatesta was delightful, but Francisco Gatell’s Ernesto definitely stole the admiration of the audience. The sweet tenor had a Flórez-esque sound and color. Com'é gentil - la notte a mezzo april was gorgeous. Btw, speaking of Flórez: ex-girlfriend Laura Giordano made herself a tepid appearance as Norina. What was up with this performance? Everyone must have been really tired, because Giordano's usually arching coloratura sounded striped...and homegirl looks like Katie Holmes, which is a bad sign for this Scientology-phobe. But this performance wasn’t really about the singing. It was about the energy, youth, and freshness, which the entire cast pulled-off with aplomb.

Btw, Mrs. Muti was there last night in gorgeous crème-colored cashmere (see picture above), but wore a pair of sunglasses the entire time. Four cameras were stationed throughout the theater and they were clearly filming, so eventually there will be a DVD.

The curse of Alagna strikes Opera Chic again!

I promise I will post about Muti’s Don Pasquale later, but first I must report now on two interviews that have been published in today’s Italian press.

First, from La Stampa, “singer” Andrea Bocelli goes on the record, defending Alagna’s actions and calling him a great musician, with the headline, "Andrea Bocelli defends his friend Alanga”. Here Opera Chic translated a few choice quotes.

Question: "Pippo Baudo, who has been your mentor in Sanremo, has invited you to the Sanremo festival again this year."

Bocelli: "No, I won’t go. And anyway, Alagna will be there, and that’s enough [of a star presence for one festival]."

Question: "What do you think of Alagna leaving the stage at La Scala during Aida?"

Bocelli: "I suffer deeply when such things happen. Alagna is right. Singers are not protected anymore. The world that boos them is a very sad world. When an artist has studied, has trained, and has been green-lighted by a conductor like Chailly, they should not be afraid of anything. Maybe Alagna was sick that night. It’s just not civilized behavior to boo. But I don’t know what I would have done had I been in his shoes."

Question: "But is the right thing to do to leave the stage?"

Bocelli: "We all react in our own personal way. To leave may simply mean that you don’t feel like going on anymore. Behind what appears, there is always much more. Alagna is a great singer. In the United States, I have even bought one of his albums. I am quite positive that he did not deserve those boos."

Question:" What about the cancellation of Alagna’s following commitments for Aida?"

Bocelli: "Those cancellations stemmed from purely political issues."

Also in today's Corriere della Sera is a long interview with Franco Zeffirelli, that asks again for the director to speak about Alagna’s behavior the night of his booing at Teatro alla Scala. Here are some quotes:

Zeffirelli says, “Alagna’s coup de théâtre? It has really been a grave folly on his part. He is impossible to defend. It is useless that he blames other situations on his failure. Maria Callas once left Norma because she had a very high fever, and her voice was just not there. But she completed the Act anyway, and loggionisti were screaming things like, ‘You are a hen, and you get paid for it!’”

“Boos belong inherently to the history of musical theater, and almost all singers have been booed at least once. Even Carlo Bergonzi, one of the greatest Radames was booed. Radames is a terrible role, and it’s just not ideal for Alagna, who managed to pulled it off very well regardless. But some sort of dissent must always be accepted. What a shame, really.”

“In April in Rome, I will direct La Traviata with Alagna and his wife Angela. I have always loved them both, even now after everything.”

“In the meantime, Alagna will go to Sanremo where, after his sceneggiata [ed: Zeffirelli uses this word to describe Alagna’s poor actions at La Scala; the Italian word is a very popular, low-brow Neapolitan traditional, sentimental theater for the average working guy] at La Scala, he will really enjoy a triumph. But that is a different profession. If he wants to gain his credibility back in the world of opera, he will have to commit very seriously.”

“La Traviata could be the perfect occasion. I’m thinking of staging a very erotic La Traviata. It will be like the one that Verdi certainly imagined, but was not able to make explicit living in his historical times.”

“Violetta suffers from tuberculosis/consumption, and those who suffer from that sickness are famously over-sexed people. I would like Eros to be palpable on stage, and since I have two very beautiful singers who really love each other in real life, there is no better occasion to do it.”

Oh great. Now that I have washed my hands of the Alagnas, I can't wait for the Rome La Traviata.

Mutiny at La Scala: The Chorus vs. GM Lissner / Dessay says “Nay”

Opera Chic is back snug in Milan, and will post tomorrow about Muti’s conducting of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (in one word: "teh"), which was attended earlier tonight at Teatro Dante Alighieri in Ravenna.

For now, there is just one piece of breaking news from Teatro alla Scala tonight concerning the chorus: They have decided to boycott this Saturday night's annual Concerto di Natale, to be conducted by Maestro Pierre Boulez.

The program reflects an all-Stravinsky selection (Le chant du rossignol, Le sacre du printemps, and the choral Symphony of Psalms), with the chorus appearing only for the Symphony of Psalms. However, seeing that the concerto would be televised, they approached Lissner for an additional stipend to supplement their previously-agreed fee. Lissner refused, and the chorus has been cut from the program completely. Thank goodness the remaining program does not require a chorus, as last year’s presentation was Barenboim's Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

...

Also to report is that soprano Natalie Dessay has cancelled her February 2007 Teatro alla Scala appearance in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. She was supposed to sing Marie, but has pulled-out. (btw, we have Flórez  Flórez Flórez singing Tonio, so Opera Chic will mos def be there.) Click here for a magnificent cache of Dessay still listed for La Fille du Régiment on the Teatro alla Scala website.

There is no official reason, but the off-the-record buzz is this: Dessay was under the impression (duh!) that Zeffirelli had created a new production of La Fille du Régiment (as he had done for Aida). Instead, Teatro alla Scala will recycle the old Zeffirelli production for La Fille. So Dessay was all like, kthxbi xoxoxox

alagna u & me r not wrking k? bi *send*

(Above: Image of the Teatro Regio di Parma ceiling, taken at last night's Esa-Pekka Salonen concert.)

Now that the ensuing Alagna hilarity -- which has occupied my waking hours since last Sunday -- has finally sucked all the remaining spirit from my exhausted body, Opera Chic is embarking tomorrow on a much needed trip to Ravenna, to hear Maestro Riccardo Muti conduct Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (that was mentioned surreptitiously both here and here) at the Teatro di tradizione Dante Alighieri with the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. This new production has been generating very flattering and enthusiastic reviews by music critics across Italy.

I have neglected reporting and reviewing poor Yuri Temirkanov's conducting of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic at Teatro alla Scala (that I attended this past Monday), as well as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Philharmonia at the Teatro Regio di Parma, which I attended last night.

I promise that if Alagna does make another scripted PR appearance in Milan, singing about dead donkeys, this lady will NOT be there. Alagna is now dead to me; as dead as his poor little donkey. O_o

(Above: Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen concert takes a bow at Teatro Regio di Parma)

(Above: Maestro Yuri Temirkanov and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic at Teatro alla Scala)

Alagna Video: EEEEE-HAW!

Well, I recorded the Alagna video clips from the television with a Leica C-LUX, and they are like 600+ MB, so what you see currently on YouTube is a capture of that Leica video, captured playing on an imac with a Sony cameraphone. It's pretty weak...

...but that's about all that the technical department of Opera Chic can manage right now.

I'll update as necesary, but see that some of you have managed to seed the entire interview via hosting services. Sooooo, go for it! brb tia.

VVVVV UPDATE VVVVV

The wonderful La Cieca directed me to this much better version on YouTube. Yay La Cieca saves the day!:

vvv UPDATE vvv

One of our commentators has taken a stab at a partial Sicilian translation of the Donkey Song. A smattering of the lyrics are here as:

My poor donkey
What a beautiful voice you had
Like a great tenor
My beloved donkey
How could I ever forget you?

You brayed
Heee Haw Heee Haw
O donkey, dear to my heart
How could I ever forget you?

ALAGNA "DOMENICA IN" SCREENSHOTS

Update: a new Opera Chic flickr set of fifteen additional screen-shots have been added, including three-year-old Alanga holding a guitar.)

MY MOST FAVORITE TWO IMAGES VVVVVVV

Alagna Recap

Okay, here is the recap:

First Alagna talked about his family, about his life growing-up in a musical environment. He spoke how he first held a guitar at age three. He spoke about his Sicilian side of the family, and was like, “I’m one of you”.

He said, “Being a singer is the most beautiful profession in the world. Fate made me become a singer.”

Then he said, “My debut took place in a pizzeria. I sang cabaret for eight years. And I have been singing opera for twenty.”

Then he spoke about La Scala, the booing, and his premonitions for a bad night:

“As soon as the curtain went up, the booing started. And this is very poor conduct for an audience. My problem is that I suffer from hypoglycemia, and in those moments that I am affected, I lose all my strength. I felt like earth had opened beneath me. The theater should stop the opera at least for five minutes to let me recover. Sometimes audiences can wait as long as one hour and a half for an ailing singer. At La Scala, instead, they bragged that they didn’t even lose one beat!

[…] “I arrived at the theater, two hours before the show was scheduled to begin, and I found one tenor warming-up his voice. And he told me, “They said you would not come tonight, Roberto!” He also told me that a third tenor was arriving at the theater in a cab.”

He then repeated the allegation that he saw people backstage doing the ‘karate-chop’ motions towards him, but this we’ve heard before.

Then they showed a black-white film of Maria Callas leaving the Rome Opera after her famous Norma. That will also be later uploaded.

Then he spoke about Angela and his marriage. They showed a clip of one of his old La Boheme with himself and Angela, and they were eating an ice cream cone together. [Edit: The eating ice-cream scene was actually from Elisir d'amore, but the scene was spliced into the montage directly after a scene from La Boheme, so I missed the transition while balancing screen-shots, filming, and taking notes.] He said how gorgeous she is, as did Pippo. And he said, “Between Angela and I, there is always been electricity. Now we keep on paying the electric bill.” (Bad joke that I don’t really “get”).

Then he went to a grand piano that had been wheeled-in, and started saying that he hasn’t been singing because his heart was broken, and it was the first time something so bad happened to him to make him stop singing.

He started singing then the very ending of aria “Celeste Aida” in a very thin, weak voice.

…and then he sang “The Dead Donkey Song”.  Here is the link to the lyrics for his sing, "U sciccareddu" for which, he got a standing ovation from the audience.

He was wearing this horrible black suit with some sort of black, raised pattern swirling all over it. A white dress-shirt, a black faux-crocodile-skin black tie, and an orange scarf. He looked nervous, like he always does; but he was at least wearing some sort of sweat-blotting powder.

Gah. It's over. I am currently processing/downloading the film, and I will start right now on uploading screen-shots.

Alagna Circus has Started!

I AM WATCHING! ALAGNA IS TALKING AND LOOKS FAIRLY NERVOUS! He's talking about La Scala right now. I must watch!

He is wearing a fake, leather/crocodile skin, black tie. And a orange cashmere scarf over his black, patterned suit. Ewwww!

There is a huge picture behind him and Pippo on a plasma, that displays Alagna dressed in Zeffirelli's golden Radames costume from the La Scala Aida, and it is autographed by Alagna.

He spoke already about his family, and now he's talking about what happened at La Scala!

F5 F5 F5 F5 F5!!!

They showed a picture of Alagna at three-years-old holding a guitar.

He is not sweaty! He is wearing lots of powder. But he is so nervous!

He is talking about Angela, who Baudo called "the most beautiful lady". Alagna is talking about ANGELA!

They are showing a clip from the La Boheme where they sang together, and Alagna looks like at least 15 years younger.

OMG HERE COMES THE PIANO! Alagna is about to sing!

He's talking about Celeste Aida! He's going to sing any second!

OMG HE SANG! HE SANG! SO BAD!

He's talking again about how he couldn't sing for a few days because his heart ached.

HE IS SINGING AGAIN! A SONG ABOUT A DONKEY!

HE IS MAKING DONKEY NOISES! I AM NOT KIDDING!!

EEEEEEE-HA EEEEEEEE-HA!

IT IS A SONG SICILIANA! HE SANG IN SICILIAN DIALECT!

THE SONG IS ABOUT A DEAD DONKEY!

VIVO ROBERTO ALAGNA! (as said by Pippo at the end of the interview)

vvvvvvUPDATEvvvvvvvv

Okay, the Alagnafest is over. He really did sing a song about a dead donkey. I am not joking. AND HE DID BRAY!

I have tons of screenshots, and I filmed his entire singing "episode". I opened a YouTube (OperaChicBlog), and will host the clips there. I am currently uploading screenshots...

Opera Chic: Gloating, and Live Blogging the Live Feed of Alagna’s Sunday TV Marathon

Dear Lovely Readers,

Please allow Opera Chic a well-deserved intervallo of gloating for announcing her world-exclusive tip almost two days ago, that allowed me to scoop actual, real-live, breathing journalistic institutions.

As I announced on Friday night during my exclusive interview with Alagna’s lead Counsel Marco Rocchini, Maestro Roberto Alagna will indeed appear tomorrow late afternoon in the Italian Television talk show Domenica In, which is broadcast on RAI Uno. The tenor will be interviewed, and will also sing selected arias.

Here is a link Italian wire agency ADN KRONOS via Yahoo!

For your non-stop Alagna satisfaction, Opera Chic will be LIVE BLOGGING tomorrow, recording clips, translating the Italian language interviews, and providing screenshots straight from 42-inch plasma.

Alagna is scheduled to appear around 6:00 pm Italian time (GMT +1), so it will be 12:00 pm noon in New York City.

According to the schedule of Domenica In, Alagna will be interviewed. He will be asked to explain the events of the Aida La Prima at Teatro alla Scala, to retell his life as a great international artist, and then he will sing a few arias and famous songs.

Alagna will be interviewed by Pippo Baudo, who is the ex-husband of Katia Ricciarelli. He is also the man who, in 1987, beat-up a loggionista outside of Teatro alla Scala in a fist-fight, after his wife Ricciarelli’s Luisa Miller was relentlessly booed by the loggionisti while screamed to the audience, “May God’s curse strike you all!”

Best from Milan,
Opera Chic

p.s. At this point I’m pretty sure I’m the kewlest lady in the entire blogsphere, to be perfectly honest. My scooping prowess, much like my power level, is off the charts! ;p

Just in time for Hanukkah: The flame of song has been rekindled!

Alagna can’t keep his mouth shut! Even if his lawyer has explained that Alagna will appear tomorrow in an afternoon television talk show here in Italy (as he told Opera Chic in an interview below), the tenor has nonetheless spoken again to another Italian newspaper. Today’s Il Giorno carries a two-page spread on tenor Roberto Alagna. The headline is a direct quote of his stating, “I left La Scala, not Milano.”

In the interview, Alagna explains that he finally woke-up in a good mood after having experienced four very terrible days

Roberto says, “I have not sung since Sunday night, and something like this has never happened to me before to go so many days without singing. My heart was broken, and when your heart is broken, you are just not inspired to do anything. You have to put the pieces back together.”

“In front of La Scala on Thursday night, my fans asked me to sing. And so I sang for them a Puccini aria, just for my fans. The flame of song has been re-kindled.”

And then the tenor seems goes on in a bragging swagger, explaining that he saw police standing in front of the theater on Thursday night. [Ed: Okay Roberto, protocol may have changed since you've been here last, but for every single performance at the teater, from the lamest opera to the most star-studded event, has a barrage of at least a dozen cops standing directly in front of the main doors before the performance starts. Also, Thursday was a particular day, as there was a gigantic demonstration in Piazza della Scala, so there were just more cops out than normal anyway. Tone down the cockiness tia!]

Roberto says, “Didn’t you see all of those police men parading in front of the entrance? They were there to prevent me from entering the theater. Have you ever seen anything like that? I never thought of crashing and entering the theater anyway. I just went to Piazza della Scala to do what I thought was right. I went there to give an explanation to that group of the Milan audience that I love, and who never disrespected me…I love this city.”

OMG WE LAV U2 RABURTO!!