Opera Chic

CHAILLY SLAMS ALAGNA: "SAVED BY SOUND ENGINEERS"!!!111 OMG

In today's Italian newspapers, Corriere della Sera and Repubblica (how sweet to be able to buy them in New York, too, OC is now addicted!) Riccardo Chailly, conductor of last December's unlucky Aida at La Scala, slams tenor Roberto Alagna. Here are the most damaging quotes:

"Yesterday I watched the Aida DVD that RAI will broadcast and Decca will soon sell in music stores...and it was a luminous, beautiful show, with excellent singers. Alagna also performed convincingly, and he gave life to a convincing Radames. But now he will say that he was right; He will say that he was a perfect Radames. Instead he should thank the sound engineers: because they performed a miracle, working on such little material they had in their hands and fixing all the defects in an astounding manner. Watching the DVD, one sees that it was a good idea. We worked well, and what happened seems even more painful now. He should have gone ahead with the show. It was a matter of respect".

So, no matter what Alagna said last month in one of his more unhinged moments ("Decca said they only make the Aida DVD if I am the protagonist in this production"), the DVD is indeed coming out! w00t!

Netrebko and her Wiener Opernball (sorry)

Anna Netrebko will be joining Paris Hilton at this years Wiener Opernball, previously touched-upon by Opera Chic here. But Netrebko wants everyone to know that she isn't getting paid, like a certain American socialite. From The Scotsman:

"Austro-Russian soprano Anna Netrebko will also add glamour to the red velvet splendour of the world famous Opera House when she comes on stage in a horse-drawn carriage at the ball to sing a Manon aria, State Opera Director Ioan Holender said."

"Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton is expected to appear on the arm of Viennese entrepreneur and socialite Richard Lugner. Every year Lugner pays a celebrity to sign autographs in his shopping centre and adorn his private box at the ball."

"In a shot at Lugner, Holender said Netrebko had decided to come and sing at the ball without taking money."

No words. I just hope Paris is wearing underwear, and that she and Netrebko don't wear the same dress.

O RLY? YES RLY: "The Magic Flute" Screencaps

As promised here, I've uploaded 64 (sixty-four) (SIXTY-FOUR) (six-four) screencaps from the English-language version of Mozart/Schkikaneder's Die Zauberflöte (English version, okay, whatevs...The Magic Flute) (with Julie Taymor's direction) at the NYC Metropolitan Opera House, part of PBS's "Great Performances at the MET" series.

Go here to find the new set on the Opera Chic flickr page. Enjoy!

Faster Muti Kill! Kill! With the New York Philharmonic

Opera Chic had quite a day today buzzing around Lincoln Center, while sampling all the delish treats of the Gelb Revolution. Btw, the Gelb Revolution will not be televised (and y'all know you're gonna watch it!) I'll get to the auxiliaries tomorrow, including the "Maestro's Secret Music" (Arturo Toscanini artworks collection in Avery Fisher Hall), and the dazzling "Maria Callas & Swarovski: Jewels on Stage" exhibition from the subterranean dungeon of the MET Opera house.

But first: Guess what?? I've got a fever! And the only prescription is...MORE MUTI!

Although it is cold as balls in New York City, that didn't stop Opera Chic from braving the razor-sharp winds to support Maestro Muti, who appeared earlier this evening with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.

Since I hate traveling with my vintage pieces, and I prefer to pack my luggage lightly, I had to fall back partially on my cache of clothes and accessories that I had left behind with family when I moved to Italy. Therefore, I set out for my adventures today in a curious mélange, wearing nothing terribly exciting save a high collar, black cashmere lady coat from Armani, and a Loro Piana gray cashmere winter cape.

 

Tonight’s program at Avery Fisher Hall at first seemed disjointed, curated from composers Giuseppe Martucci, Giuseppe Verdi, and Ottorino Respighi. Aside from the fact that they are all Italians, they actually are all linked tenuously through Martucci, which was explained in the program notes from the evening.

The concert opened with Martucci's "Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat", with the brilliant Gerhard Oppitz flawlessly playing the cadenzas. The grand piano was situated stage center, flanked by the orchestra, which stood between Muti and the audience. A Muti sandwich, if you will. But the positioning was teh suck for me (as I was in orchestra front) because Muti was blocked behind the giant hull of the piano lid. But the awesomeness of that proximity paid-off, and I was able to hear Muti sigh and wheeze, and fret about the music, stomping his feet across the podium during the crescendi. Pretty f**king sweet!

The first movement of the Martucci piano concerto, Allegro giusto, was lol giusto lol. No. It was actually a very symphonic, big sound. The second, Larghetto, was astonishingly lyrical. The finale was adequately bright. Gerhard Oppitz played blithely, and had no problem keeping up with Muti's tempi. Fun fact: The New York Philharmonic's previous performance of this work was only twice: February 21 & 24 in 1911. Go Muti Go…with your obscure and esoteric snobbery!

 

Muti was suited in delicate eyeglasses, frac, and that lovely shade of dark grey that he is currently rawking on top. Muti unfortunately seemed distant and a bit aloof. This was a different Muti that I had seen in Ravenna just last month conducting Don Pasquale. He was detached and somber, a little lethargic. And the overall sound was a bit on the muddied spectrum. Of course, he still conducted flawlessly (as always).

Then intervallo: *reads program* *checks mobile phone* *txts Italian friends: OMG MUTI IS ALL UP IN THIS PIECE*

During the intermission, the piano was wheeled away. Yay! Muti's podium was pulled shallow, leaving il maestro in plain view. The first work after intervallo was Verdi's "Ballet Music" from Macbeth. As the story goes, Verdi had written the opera in 1864 without any sort of ballet. However, the French publisher Léon Escudier, in anticipation of the April 21, 1865 la prima at the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris, asked the Italian composer to add a ballet. The playbill goes on to say, "In 1865 the composer revised the opera to include a ballet — de rigueur for anyone who had aspirations of producing an opera in Paris. The members of the infamous Jockey Club who attended the ballet called the shots: they wanted to see their favorite dancers on stage—and backstage after the performance as well." Well, Verdi obliged, and we now find the ballet early in Act III. Fun fact: The New York Philharmonic only played this once before—on April 3, 1957 with Mitropoulos conducting.

 

Now onto the final work: Respighi's Feste romane, a quirky highlight of the evening. A colorful story evolves through the music, which is easily followed via the personification of the instruments. There’s the drunk guy, the witch, the lions, etc. This work is just so much fun, and a complete orgy of brass. It's a dirty, ugly, brash sound, which begins in the visceral first movement, Circus Maximus. Brass-heavy composition, this work is more like a trumpet concerto (three trumpet players were stationed up in the second tier balcony, which were supposed to be an ancient Roman brass/horn instrument called buccine.) Through the next three movements (The Jubilee, Oktoberfest, and Epiphany), there was a dizzying array of instruments, including sleigh bells, a glockenspiel, two pianos, and a mandolin. It was insane. Muti was very deft at weaving it all into a coherent pallet. He took away the sappiness and sentimentality of the composition, and gave it dignity and grace. He suffused it with depth. Muti rawks my socks. Fun fact: The world premiere was with the New York Philharmonic on February 21, 1929 in NYC, conducted by Toscanini.

 

The reception after the finale was lukewarm. Is it the Carlo Fontana fall-out? The Muti backlash? A standing ovation…but really what doesn’t get a standing ovation these days? The New York audience can suck it. WTF NYC? This is pandemic! First Darfur, now Muti. I fear what is next!

Well, whatevs. I dosed on Muti cowbell, suckas!

"Muti Stabbed Me!": Former Scala GM Speaks; AND Blasts Alagna, Too!

Today's weekly newsmagazine of Corriere della Sera carries an explosive interview with former La Scala General Manager (and Riccardo Muti nemesis), Mr. Carlo Fontana, now a Senator. In the magazine (not online, sorry!), Fontana savagely blasts Muti, saying, "He stabbed me in the back".

Muti, we have to remember, was a bitter opponent of Fontana's decisions during their shared time at Teatro alla Scala: Muti had accused Fontana of several offenses, mainly of "dumbing down" La Scala's programs, and eventually managed to have Fontana removed in early 2005, placing Muti loyalist, Mauro Meli, in Fontana's post. However, weeks later, Muti himself had to resign under pressure from the orchestra. And so the orchestra managed to effectively fire Muti, the way they had fired Claudio Abbado twenty years before. Here's the translation of the important quotes between Corriere and Carlo Fontana:

Carlo Fontana: "I would have loved to re-create with Muti the kind of relationship I had with my mentor Paolo Grassi and with Giorgio Strehler: the men who created Piccolo Teatro in Milan".

Corriere: "And what happened instead?"

Carlo Fontana: "Instead Muti stabbed me in the back".

Corriere: "This is an exaggeration: you and Muti might simply have had different opinions about what mattered for La Scala."

Carlo Fontana: "I've always given priority to the artists. Muti and I agreed on the things to do for many years. Together we decided to bring back to Milan the great opera of melodramma popolare. I often stepped back to please him, and I greenlighted ideas that didn't really convince me. I always considered him a great conductor..."

Corriere: "But..."

Carlo Fontana: "But when Muti thought that he and I were too much in disagreement, he avoided a direct confrontation, and he didn't come to me to talk about it and...".

Corriere: "...and He attacked. Who helped him?"

Carlo Fontana: "Some members of the board, the then-Mayor, Gabriele Albertini. I had a good relationship with Albertini during his first term in office. He, together with Riccardo De Corato, helped the Teatro alla Scala renovation project a lot. But then Albertini began to take orders from Muti and from other powerful entities..."

After blasting Muti, Fontana (who has a book out) finds the time to slam another Opera Chic Aficionado, Roberto Alagna. When asked about his favorite tenors he answers (OMG edgy!) "Easy, Domingo and Pavarotti". And then, asked to choose a tenor he'd happily throw out of the theatre, Fontana happily answers: "Roberto Alagna".

I'm sure Angela will kick Fontana's a$$ very soon. If we were him, we'd be worried!

Great Performances at the MET: Die Zauberflöte

Thanks to La Cieca's gentle reminder, this unashamed Opera Nerd stayed in last night and caught the condensed/bastardized version of Mozart/Schkikaneder's Die Zauberflöte at the MET, as part of PBS's "Great Performances at the MET" series. Opera Chic saw this live in NYC during it's inaugural run (albeit in the original German-language), and forgot what a delight it was...with Julie "Lion King" Taymor's direction of giant puppet-bears, floating feasts, skeletal birds, and a boom-box glockenspiel.

High def screenshots were taken (this time on the inferior panel of an LCD) of Nathan Gunn's hammy (but gorgeous) face, Morris Robinson's latex breasts, and Isabel Bayrakdarian's pancaked face. And Rene Pape. Thank you Toll [house cookie] Brothers!!

A few screenshots for now (and much more later), as Opera Chic has a full day of musical adventures awaiting, and therefore must jump!

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Wilhelm Furtwängler!

Today would have been the 121st birthday of Wilhelm Furtwängler (if he had been born a superman or robot that lived forever). The German conductor, born January 25, 1886, was memorable for his spastic puppet-like idiosyncrasies on the podium, but even more memorable for his sublime symphony recordings along with a rare smattering of opera.

Favorite Furtwängler recordings in the Opera Chic household? The 1954 Vienna Don Giovanni with Schwarzkopf, and all of his Beethoven Ninth recordings, especially his ethereal Ninth of the Philharmonia Lucerne Festival recording from August 22, 1954.

Fun fact: In some circles of Milanese music critics, Furtwängler (in the party hat) affectionately goes by the sobriquet "Foofie".

David Lynch, Opera Director

Earlier today, Opera Chic was watching the fascinatingly incomprehensible INLAND EMPIRE, David Lynch's new film, and while immersed in Laura Dern's rabbit-intensive nightmares she found herself thinking about something Shostakovich wrote about Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk (btw, if you haven't already, check out the lean, mean, terrifying literary source): "I feel empathy for her... She is surrounded by monsters".

Maybe it was the glum, industrial sets Lynch found in Poland, or the interesting bluish light that he used to drench the scariest moments of the film (there are a lot), or maybe it was Opera Chic's strictly Platonic crush on Lynch ("strictly" because, seriously, DL is a genius and lives in a Lloyd Wright (FLW's son) house and all...but he's sixty and smokes like a chimney and he's a big Weirdy McWeirdykins to boot!), but Opera Chic realized that Lynch would make a great opera director.

And he'd be especially awesome with Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth -- he'd give the opera the perfect tone of menace and nightmare. Lynch paints and takes photographs and writes music and he's already directed tons of ads, and choreographed a superlame Julee Cruise video. Opera Chic doesn't see why a smart, cool opera house should not commission him an opera staging. After all, don't we all complain that opera directors have few ideas? At least this man has A LOT of ideas. Some of them even good!

+++++ UPDATE1+++++

Aaron Hillis, film critic and scholar and NYC blogger, calls INLAND EMPIRE his favorite feature of 2006, and reviews creepy DL oldie Eraserhead

++++++ UPDATE2+++++

The Evening Class went to a DL lecture

++++++++UPDATE3++++++++

I was in Łódź, Poland. It's spelled L-O-D-Z, but it's pronounced "Wootch."

Don Carlos in Barcelona

As a proud Opera Populist, Opera Chic has a soft spot for Verdi's trilogia popolare (but to impress Milan snobs she rattles off a small lecture, memorized over the years, about Verdi's obscure masterpiece, Jerusalem, that she actually, really likes a LOT). She nevertheless has a soft spot for Verdi's forays into Grand Opera: and she wishes she could fly to Barcelona because on Saturday, exactly 106 years after Maestro Verdi's death (at the Grand Hotel Et De Milan), the 1867 French language version of Don Carlos will be staged at the Liceu de Barcelona (Farina/Alvarez/Benini). And, as you see in the photos, it's a Don Carlos with ninjas.

Opera Chic is also the proud owner of the Alagna/Hampson/Pappano version (nobody booed then). But don't tell anyone.

Maruska Albertazzi's Lucky Day

For those of you who hate when things go unresolved, an update:

From Opera di Roma's buff-Salome-actress Maruska Albertazzi's blog comes a new entry regarding the status of her missing briefcase and the accompanying media.

As of this past Monday, Albertazzi's cabbie, "Mr. Roma 31", returned her bag with the documents and her "special" autographed photograph is quite the happy ending.

Actor Christopher Lee Hops on the Opera Bandwagon

(Christopher Lee's new opera-influenced CD really sucks /heh heh heh GET IT??!)

Actor Christopher "Dracula -- Prince of Darkness" Lee, at age 84, has recently released a CD called "Revelation", with a smattering of "opera songs" on the track listing (the Neapolitan song "O Sole Mio").

Mr. Lee apparently has operatic genetics pulling-on his side, as according to BBC: "His great grandparents formed Australia's first opera company, performing before miners in towns in the outback: Lee has inherited a powerful operatic voice."

But that's somewhat debatable:

On his new CD, Mr. Lee also sings Escamillo's "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre" (aka "The Toreador Song") from Georges Bizet's Carmen, giving it a heavy-metal ballad flavor, coming str8 outta the 1980s.

If you can bear to watch the following interview/performance, Lee sings his, um, endearing metal-infused version of Toréador, en garde! at minutes 1:02, 1:54, and 2:37.

Okay, okay...is everyone relatively unscathed? Here's an awesome picture of Christopher Lee (by Frank Habicht) to get us back to a warm safe place...a warm safe place...

Wagner and his Neckbeard

There are many who are critical of Wagner for either his morals or his music. However, there is one thing that unifies the dissenters, and that is the undisputable, inarguable majesty of his glorious neckbeard.

Wagner was rocking the neckbeard action that would have made w0w guilders cry.

Wagner would have out-neckbearded every single other neckbeard who waited a week outside of Best Buy for a Wii.

He would have put l0Tr fanfic writers to shame.

*strokes neckbeard*

You see, many of Opera Chic's readers might not be hip to the latest leet-speak or internet meme. But neckbeards are all the rage among unemployed, college-aged internet nerds who sit online all day and haunt gamer forums, obsessively clock ebay auctions, and enthusiastically swap Manga.

If Wagner was a contemporary, Der fliegende Holländer may have had never been written, because he'd be sitting around all day playing DDR, a/s/l'ing on AIM, and...grooming his neckbeard.

Bryn Terfel to Burberry: "WTF?"

 

Burberry plans to close its factory in Treorchy, Wales, with the loss of 300 jobs, and switch production to -- big surprise! -- China. A bunch of Welsh celebrities (Tom Jones, Rhys Ifans, the prince of Wales -- who's technically English, we believe, but whatevs -- and other famous people with funny Welsh names mostly unknown to Opera Chic) have joined efforts to lobby Burberry to do the right thing and keep the Welsh factory alive. Opera Chic's beloved giant teddy bear of a baritone, the awesome Bryn Terfel, has joined the cause, too.

Now, Opera Chic loves her classic trench coat, her bag, her V-neck sweater, all made by Burberry. She's also happy, strangely, that they're not made in China. As apolitical as she is, she happily joins the protest: you don't want to piss Wotan off, Burberry.

BREAKING NEWS: ZEFFIRELLI HOSPITALIZED FOR IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT

Franco Zeffirelli was in good condition at a Rome hospital after being admitted for an irregular heartbeat, his son said Tuesday. "He's doing well," said Luciano Zeffirelli.

The 83-year-old Italian filmmaker was undergoing medical tests at San Giovanni hospital after being admitted late Monday with heart fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, his son said.

More here.

GET WELL FRENGO! BIG HUGS AND GET-WELL-SOON WISHES FROM OPERA CHIC!!!

Gatti Wins Over Critics, Audiences; Next Stop the Music Directorship?

Scala old-timers still remember him as the shy, baby-faced kid with the huge head of super-thick, dark hair who, as a student ,would sneak into rehearsals (his dad was a tenor) and sit quietly in the back of the platea, taking mental notes of everything and following every note.

But in the near-future, he could very well become the next Music Director of La Scala after Riccardo Muti's stormy 20-year reign, if increasingly insistent gossip from La Scala is to be believed.

Because now Milan-born Daniele Gatti is 45 and a world-famous conductor (who has worked from Vienna to Berlin to London); his Lohengrin at La Scala convinced everybody: critics, audiences, the dreaded loggionisti, and even Maestro Scaligero Daniel Barenboim, who was in town for the Toscanini concert and managed to catch Gatti's general rehearsal for Lohengrin (Barenboim's TWO THUMBZ UP review: "I tip my hat!"). And, always at La Scala, a series of Brahms/Mendelssohn/Hindemith concerts with Gatti on the podium is getting excellent reviews, too.

Increasingly loud chatter in the Teatro and even, shyly, as a trial balloon maybe, in the press, indicates that Gatti -- who at the end of the season will be free from his Bologna post after a successful decade -- could in the next months receive an offer from La Scala GM Lissner: a Music Director post!

The reason behind this being that Barenboim's role as Maestro Scaligero only entails a few concerts and an opera a year, and some general supervision on the program; but Barenboim's millions of other commitments  make it impossible for the Argentinian-Israeli maestro to assume a bigger role at the Teatro.

Gatti's young age plays against him, but his growing international stature -- he has recently developed a relationship with the Wiener Philharmoniker, the first Italian conductor after Muti to land the coveted honor -- makes him the best available candidate. Especially since Barenboim won't leave his Musical Director post at Berlin's Staatsoper, and La Scala cannot remain for many years without a MD.

There is of course a big IF: he'll eventually get the post IF the all-powerful (they're the ones who effectively fired Muti anyway) Orchestra says yes. The professori d'orchestra, as of today, have been keeping their cards VERY close to their white, starched vests.

We'll see. And Opera Chic will be there to report.

Gangsta's Paradise: Milan's Fashion Shows

At last week Milan Fashion shows, an important cultural event, overlooked by most of the International press, has happened. And Opera Chic wants to share it with her readers: Opera Fan, Soccer World Champion, unabashed pacifist and generally bada$$ Marco Materazzi has been seated next to his American idol, washed-up rapper Coolio.

Zinedine Zidane was nowhere in sight, probably cowering in fear under a chair or something.

Hollywood: City of Glass

Mad props to maestro Philip Glass, who has just been nominated for an Academy Award. Full nominee list is here. In bocca al lupo for the Oscar, maestro!

And next October our lucky SF readers will be able to catch the forthcoming premiere of his new opera, Appomattox.

Roberto Alagna Kicking and Screaming

DEAR MYTHBUSTERS,

I HEARD ON TEH INTERNETS THAT "BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS" TOTALLY PITCH TO THE SOUND OF *BOOOOO*

...SO IF U *BOO* SOMEONE, U CAN MAGICALLY MAKE THEIR BLOOD PRESSURE DROP REALLY BAD??? RIGHT?!! LIKE SOME HARRY POTTER SH*T: TRUE OR FALSE?  PLESAE CONFIRM TIA

♥ OC ♥

The Sydney Morning Herald published today an interview with our homeboy Roberto "HAY GUYS LOOK AT ME OVER HERE LOOK" Alagna.

In an article titled "Broken-hearted tenor to sue opera house", Alagna gives his first explaination of why he left the stage during the December 2006 Teatro alla Scala Aida.

He goes on to say that he is officially suing La Scala for, "failing to help a person in danger", and blames the audiences' boos for the dangerous drop in his blood sugar levels.

Couching his insults in passive-aggressive barbs, he states:

"I could accept being booed if I was singing badly, but not being lynched. That demolishes a singer. It's like a death blow. I adore La Scala, but the result of this behaviour is that first-rate singers no longer perform there."

It really needs to be read to be believed...

The Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Make the Baby Jesus Cry

A naked actress struts among singers and musicians during the Luk Perceval-directed Claudio Monteverdi's Marienvesper, currently in rotation at Berlin's Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

NSFW (naked lady) Opera Chic Flickr album can be found here.

[Obligatory Alanis Morissette Thank You reference here.]

Posting without comprehending: The Apple Tree on NYC's Broadway

Opera Chic has been on lock-down since returning to the US and A, receiving flocks of relatives and friends that have congregated to welcome back their wandering Odysseus. Today I managed a few hours to myself, and like a ninja, I broke-loose and stealthily whisked into Midtown Manhattan to get a Broadway fix.

I chose The Apple Tree, but it was kind of rotten and mealy! ahahaha looks like somebody got owned (it was me).

The Apple Tree (starring Kristin Chenoweth) at Roundabout Theatre Company (Ye Olde Studio 54) was originally on b'way forty years ago (1966), and only ran for one year...but they probably should have just sealed it up in a time capsule and sunk it to the bottom of the Hudson River. It was painfully dated, stale, and plagiaristic: every convention was borrowed heavily from its contemporaries, the other major broadway hits from the 1960s.

The narrative was presented in three completely disjointed, isolated vignettes, but all were about the relationships between men and women. Oh. great. yawn.

The first story was a moldy and pedestrian battle-of-the-sexes. It was inspired by Mark Twain's "The Diary of Adam and Eve"...but if poor Mark Twain knew that his work would later be the foundation for such fodder, I'm sure he would have never published it. The second tale was a geographically confused story of a princess who holds the fate of her forbidden lover in her hands, and was based on Frank R. Stockton's cliffhanger "The Lady or the Tiger?" The third interlude was the tale of a mousy chimney sweep by day, and a a Jayne Mansfield-esque star by night. THE LAMENESS IS CALLING FROM INSIDE TEH THEATER. GET OUT NOW!

Brilliant Chenoweth made a clever choice to sign the contract for this run, as it hopefully yields lots of profit while exercising almost no vocal strain (the protaganist's score has a range of like two octaves at the most). The only appeal is Chenoweth's skillz. Whatevs. A very generous NY Times review is here.

Regardless, I'm still bubbling because it's amazing to be back in NYC...the pulse, the speed, the light. And Opera Chic promises that his week will be filled with opera and symphony (-20 broadway). Stay close!

(This is an image of the stage backdrop for The Apple Tree [it's an apple tree] that was implemented instead of a curtain.) 

Daniel Barenboim Plays Carnegie, Shrinks. Scroll Down 4 Teh Incredible Images

OMG they shrunk the Maestro! WTF Carnegie? Look at the little baby piano I will play for yoooouuuuu!

Daniel Barenboim played Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I & II at NYC's Carnegie Hall, each one a successive night of Saturday, January 20 and Sunday January 21, 2007. He reflected on his earliest musical impressions of Bach's WTC:

"At the age of 12 I moved to Paris to study harmony and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger. When I arrived for my first lesson, The Well-Tempered Clavier was on the music stand of the grand piano. She turned the pages forward and back; finally she settled on the Prelude in E minor from Book One and said: 'Right, my boy, now play it for me in A minor.' She held a wooden ruler in her hand and every time my fingers played a wrong note she tapped them with it. Thus, The Well-Tempered Clavier became the foundation for everything."

Happy 50th anniversary at Carnegie Hall, Maestro; may you play and conduct for 50 more. The Opera Chic "Barenboim Plays Carnegie" Flickr set is here.

מזל טוב

cya in meeeylan 4 caffe' @same table @teh principe di savoia bar ok? hugs OC

Merci, Henri

The dear Jessica Duchen and I and, we hope, many other music lovers, are still hungover after the big Chausson birthday parties we threw last night. And the music of chance is sometimes so funny that today, just one day later, we celebrate the birthday of the great, half-forgotten giant to whom Maestro Chausson dedicated his Poème de l'amour et de la mer: Joyeux Anniversaire to Monsieur Henri Duparc.

No funny hat, for once, because Opera Chic thinks that the late maestro's life has been too unhappy already and he doesn't really need the indignity. He just needs our thanks, once again.

Muti: "Veni, Vidi, Repin"

One thing that Opera Chic thinks is sadly lacking in classical music blogs: fresh meat for the gearheads. Photography blogs obsess about megapixels, image noise, zooms and wide angles (btw, Opera Chic is very proud of her brand new, 10 megapixels new Canon). Rock music blogs give their readers all kinds of info about this Gibson or that vintage Stratocaster. Those of us who fetishize their Steinways, and could stare for hours at the reddish deep brown varnish of a Carlo Giuseppe Testore cello (or OMG a quirky bass of his), instead, are often denied the pleasure that other nerdy, gearheads/otakus get from their favorite blogs.

That's why when Opera Chic read this morning this NYT review of maestro Muti's and Vadim Repin's concert with the NY Philharmonic, she thought: 

1) Yay for Muti! (Opera Chic is, if a bit latecoming, a now faithful Muti fan)

2) OMG Ruby!

(Where Ruby is, of course, Repin's monstrously sexy 1708 Stradivari, the Ruby, and its heartbreaking amber sound. And then, sending a mental kiss to the Stradivari Society, Opera Chic dreamily finished her breakfast, and began her day.)

(The photo above comes from the always awesome Ravenna Festival's website.)

Questa o quella per me pari non sono

A (young ) woman under the influence (of jet lag), Opera Chic was surprised to see that this week's Met broadcast came live from 1956. It's the perfect time to award Opera Chic's gentle readers a sneak peek into Opera Chic's new venture: we are expanding our brand with the obligatory T-shirts, coming soon in a new collection on CafePress  and, why not, Kitson.

WANTED: MARUSKA ALBERTAZZI'S CABBIE

Actress Maruska Albertazzi, one of the two Salomes in the barenaked, nude, naked, Brazilian-waxed, scandalous, pant-pant Salome at Opera di Roma (the other Salome is hawt soprano Francesca Patané), has a (NSFW) blog.

And a few minutes ago she has posted an entry explaining that after tonight's show, she took a cab to go to dinner with her family. And she left a small briefcase in the taxi's trunk. Inside an envelope, there were "personal documents of great importance" and an 8x10 glossy of the actress, naked. Nuda.

Maruska is asking the cabbie to kindly bring back the documents.

He can keep the photo.

If said, hopefully non-horny taxi driver reads Opera Chic, we are happy to join the kind Miss Albertazzi in requesting he please brings back the documents.

And if he does keep the photo, would he please scan it and send a nice hi-res file to Opera Chic's e-mail addy? THX