Opera Chic

Damiano Michieletto's Poliuto Teaser at Opernhaus Zürich

Gaetano Donizetti’s story of Christian martyrs, Poliuto, opens on Sunday at the Zurich Opera House with Damiano Michieletto's new production. The Venice-born, 37-year-old opera director, who spoke to us in February for OC's weekly column on Grazia.it, said that his conception was an atmospheric industry where men live underground like mice and religion's viewed as something that can give valor to human life against mass consumption. Whoaaa high concept. Conducted by Nello Santi, Massimiliano Pisapia sings the title role.

This summer, Michieletto will premiere an already-sold-out La Boheme (Netrebko as Mimì, natch) at the Salzburger Festspiele, conducted by Daniele Gatti in August. He's the first Italian opera director since Strehler and Ronconi to bring a new opera to the Austrian festival and already revealed that it'll be a carefree version.

Donizetti's Il Furioso

A freshly-uploaded full recording of Donizetti's two act Il Furioso all'isola di San Domingo, based on an episode from Cervantes' Don Quixote -- a tale of madness, infidelity and forgiveness, from this recording.

The Ghost of Rolando Past: L'Elisir d'Amore at La Scala

Last night at la Scala saw the sixth spettacolo of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore (premiered on October 2nd), a forgettable pastiche of directing duo sensation Laurent Pelly's & Chantal Thomas' take on bucolic kitsch that was presented with lackluster, uneven singing and underwhelming conducting. OC is on the record as a Pelly/Thomas cheerleader (really, consider their Florez/Dessay La fille du régiment -- does it get any better than that? WE DONT THINK SO!) but this entire new production was burdened with Jupiter's gravity, a draggy night that detracted from the Rolando Villazon comeback hype that should have made this run (sadly in the past) memorable.

Sandwiched between Anna Bolena and Lucrezia Borgia, Donizetti's L'elisir d'Amore is a sparkling-sweet landscape of love and misunderstanding ripe for comedy set to a libretto by Felice Romani. At its premiere in Milan's Teatro alla Canobbiana in 1832 it was an instant hit, celebrated for Donizetti's succulent score set to a lollersome comedic plot all wrapped-up in a happy ending -- it remains to this day one of opera's most audience-friendly blockbusters.

A technically perfect orchestra under the direction of Donato Renzetti slowed down the manuscript to an underwater pace, ploddingly thick at times, unrecognizable at its worst. The slow motion strategy was made obvious when Rolando Villazon l a a a u u n c h e d into his arias, taking everything at a safe pace. During the Second Act's Quartetto the tempo and direction was so lackluster that it came close to collapsing in sluggish inertia. Una Furtiva Lagrima, that breath-holding aria that shows Donizetti's remarkable skill of turning the thrills of love into melancholy/heartbreak -- in less time than a Ferrari Scaglietti takes to get from 0 to 60 -- was slowed down to the paces of a Hyundai lawnmower. It wasn’t a bad effort from Villazon, but one decent aria after a slew of mediocre ones doesn't mark the success of an entire performance.       

Villazon started the night off at a low point with Quanto è bella, a mess of chaotic breathing, broken phrasing, and scooping -- at times like a vintage 78 being played back on the wrong speed, especially during Nemorino and Adina's duet Chiedi all’aura lusinghiera. His voice lacked nuance while preoccupied tackling the passages. He still has all of that charisma and energy from the Rolando of Villazon Past, but the voice is mismatched.   

The overall effective costumes and scenes from the usually flawless Laurent Pelly and Chantal Thomas flaunted Italian countrysides (with a Midwestern flair) of Q-bert haystacks and Bramantean perspective-keen backgrounds and chorus dressed in late 1950s style. OC loves Pelly and Thomas for their effortless melding of hyperrealism with comic book/graphic art sauciness. But this time the stagnant, unimaginative direction was the biggest antagonist of the production and even normally-cool gimmicks that were blended with such an admirable light hand (fire, fireworks, vespas, a tractor, a schnauzer dog, etc.) sank under the weight of derivative direction and slow paces.

Unmemorable interpretations of each character vacillated from blah to meh in a skimmed misreading of Donizetti's protagonists. Vocally everyone was keen (Giorgio Caoduro's Belcore, Barbara Bargnesi's Giannetta, and Renato Girolami's Dulcamara) but character sketches were uninteresting. Irina Lungu's Adina was also fine, marked with a rich, sold voice and a good dramatic flair, but Lungu included, no one was memorable.  

Uneven conducting, singing (even Chorus Master Bruno Casoni's insanely excellent La Scala chorus was uneven), and direction marred Donizetti’s comic masterpiece, turning a witty, sparkling multilayered sitcom into a provincial windbaggy narrative. And for their sixth night of this show at La Scala, there can't be any excuses.

"Deh, Troncate I Ceppi Suoi", Rossini, JDF

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

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

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

 

~*~

Filianoti's Mark

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Netrebko's Madness

More Trebs, Queen of the Scots, Because You Know You Want It

Postpartum Netrebka as "Lucia" in St. Petersburg is one of the things we can never have enough of -- Opera Chic has a thing for comebacks, and for Anna Bananna, too.

Here, courtesy of Scottish Opera, photo copyright by Natasha Razina, more photos of this Lucia -- Valery Gergiev himself handpicked the Scottish 2007 production of Lucia di Lammermoor directed by John Doyle, sets by Daffyd Burne Jones.

This photo of Anna and little Tiago instead comes courtesy of our friend Val.

Trebs Sings (More Or Less); Ovation Ensues

In the kind words of dear Vera, OC's sweetest Russian friend, not all is well for Netrebko in her Lucia comeback after the pregnancy:

People who were there said that she was not completely all right at the premiere evening, and another singer got ready to replace her. So she didn’t hit all the notes but here the audience is not like the one in Milan: they gave her 20 minutes ovation. The tenor was very good – Skorohodov (I heard him in Flegender Hollander in December and he also was pretty good), baritone Markov whom everyone here seems to love didn’t impress very much. I'll write more after I heard from more people who were at the premiere -- I wasn’t -- and am now worried about the night of the 17. If she will not be all right she may quit.

(Almost) live from Opera Chic's St.Petersburg (Russia, not Florida) bureau, heeeeeeeere's Anna! (another Russian video is here)


And from yesterday's post, big photos from the production scroll down or click here.

Back In Black! New Mom Anna Netrebko Returns to the Opera Stage in Lucia

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko sings Lucia di Lammermoor at St. Petersburg Mariinsky, marking her official return to the opera stage after giving birth in September 2008 to a baby boy.

**Click on the link below to see MORE images of Netrebko's black turtleneck hawtness!**

We're Mad for Graham Vick's Lucia di Lammermoor!

We're always psyched to have the company of British opera director Graham Vick up in this piece -- he who is so capable of f@4king-up your opera house -- that we pulled out our white Valextra wallets, and headed over to the closest newsstand where la Repubblica (and weekly mag L'espresso) is selling his Lucia di Lammermoor DVD in a special offer.

First seen in 1996 at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Vick's Lucia production has had a lot of playtime the past dozen years, and was most recently staged at the much hyped San Francisco Opera earlier this year, Natalie Dessay's stellar interpretation of Lucia deserving all the props it got.

Directed by Vick, his Lucia is an organic version dominated by a full yellow moon hovering over the stage. Gorgeous moor heather & lavender sprinkle the sets in purple & red, pulling warmth from the frigid Scottish Highlands, tho impervious to the blustery, windswept canvases behind. Peppered with conventions like a cinematic split screen, the direction and scenery compliment the dreamlike madness of Lucia -- who goes mad on a carpet of blood-red roses. Crazy for love, literally.

The DVD was filmed live in 2003 from Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova and stars Stefania Bonfadelli as Lucia, Roberto Frontali as Enrico, and Marcellone Alvarez as Edgardo. It was conducted by Patrick Fournillier.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Stefano Pilati and La Naomi)

(La Editrix)

Olé for Olatz!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saved the Best for Last

YOURE WELCOME

Famous Faces from The Metropolitan Opera's Opening Night

A few shots from The Metropolitan Opera Season 2007-08 Opening Gala:

Also in attendance were Vera Farmiga, Deborah Norville, Cady Huffman, John McEnroe & Patty Smyth, and Tovah Feldshuh.

^^^^^(Above: Plácido Domingo)

^^^^^(Above: Jane Fonda)

^^^^^(Above: Blythe Danner)

^^^^^(Above: Mary-Louise Parker)

^^^^^(Above: Zac Posen)

^^^^^(Above: Barbara Walters)

^^^^^(Above: Bob Balaban)

^^^^^(Above: Bianca Jagger)

^^^^^(Above: Walter Cronkite)

^^^^^(Above: Willem DaFoe)

Why then Ile fit you. Lucia's mad againe

Since Opera Chic was there and you weren't, watch Natalie Dessay stylishly go bananies in these three videos from the Met's Lucia

Short and Sweet: Impromptu Curtain Call on the Grand Tier

Two clips from last night of the spontaneous final curtain call that Dessay, et al granted to the spectators below, who were watching faithfully on Robertson Plaza the live simulcast of the September 24, 2007 Lucia di Lammermoor season opener. 

Met Madness: Lucia di Lammermoor Season Premiere

(The 2nd intermission was spent outdoors, and checking-out the huge plasma).

Okay, since a majority of you listened to the Lucia di Lammermoor simulcast via internet, and certainly a minority of you had been in attendance at either Times Square or Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza yesterday night to catch the performance on the plasma screens, there won't be a play-by-play. You can go here instead for the excruciatingly delicious details, which OC reported during the September 20th Open Rehearsal. Now, here are the most exciting bits!

(teh paps)

(the plaza)

First of all, the last time OC went to the MET season opener a few years ago, there were like 12 paparazzi hanging-out front, and anyone could just walk up to Al Roker, Sarah Duchess of York, or Jamie Lynn Sigler as they appeared before the lobby, like all us ticket holders did. It was totally egalitarian and uncomplicated. Now the reception zone is wacktarded, with too many paparazzi lining the fenced-in red carpet that there are freaking risers erected so they can cram in two rows of the agency photo-snappers. Plebeians are staunched at the entrance to Lincoln Center, where they congregate with digital cameras, Poland Springs, and the ubiquitous flip-flops. The downside is that the average photo buff can’t hang around the receiving area and take shots of NYC legacy, but the upside is that NYC legacy can’t get assaulted by roving stalkers. It’s win/win really.

OC did the walk of fame into a packed lobby, a few moments before Bianca Jagger and Mercedes Bass, and almost ran into Mayor Bloomberg. O hay here are a few pics.

(The lobby before the opera.)

(The Grand Tier before the opera. Private par-tay.)

(Bloomberg in the lobby...looking good!)

(I have no idea who that man is. Not a single clue.)

(Bianca Jagger.)

So who did we see? <-- Definitely not Mercedes Bass. Too many heiresses and heirs, a handful of singers, and lots of NYC "celebrity". But who OC really was looking for was Chris Meloni, on/off appearance-gifter at select NYC events. No Melonis. :-< Seating was late, no one wanted to squash their Zac Posens into their damn seats, and in total, the performance, which was supposed to finish at 9:52pm, was over more like 10:30pm, with curtain call stretching almost another ten minutes. There were about half a dozen attendees in kilts. Yeah, kilts. I appreciate the effort, but the opera is not a costume party tia. Should I go in full Japanese geisha regalia for the next Madama Butterfly? Or dressed as a matador for the Carmen? Actually, that could be kinda hawt.

Most women were dressed in killer gowns, gorgeous quaffs, and sumptuous clutches. Most men were in sleek tuxedo. OC ditched the originally planned, too-flamboyant Diane von Furstenberg gown (no, not a wrap...waaaay too casual) for a much simpler von Furstenberg black dress, and worked it well. NYC is as big on black as we are in Milan for an evening at La Scala (yah, here’s a tip for you future attendees at Scala: when in doubt, wear black; you’ll fit right in). And although our pal Rachel Zoe stresses how poorly black dress photographs on the red carpet, we did it anyway.

Before the performance, Gelb came out in a black on black suit/shirt combo (tux was still at the cleaners?) and announced that the performance was dedicated to the late greats Pavarotti and Sills, and then requested a moment of silence, which was incredibly, truly silent. Then the orchestra played the Star Spangled Banner, and the entire audience sang along. That’s not a joke. Since there was a fair share of professional singers in the crowds, our version of the Star Spangled Banner sounded much better than the sing-a-longs at Yankee Stadium. Also: the MET Orchestra.

Overall, there were quite a few changes made from the Thursday, September 20th rehearsal that were noticeable in tonight’s earlier performance.

Most of all, everyone was just so much hammier. The acting, emoting, and blocking were so much more theatrical and intense than before witnessed. Everything was souped up, even the silent fringe actors like the sedative-administering doctor during the Act III, Scene I il dolce suono, and the busy-body wedding photographer during Act II, Scene II sextet, were suffused with a new hyper-narrative. Dessay was the most noticeable detractor from her prior performance, and Act III’s il dolce suono [mad scene] was off teh hook.

(Special Opening Night Gala insert in the program with names of all the benefactors.)

There were also a few opportunities where things did not go as smoothly as they had previously. In Act I, Scene II, the Lucia/Alisa duet ‘ah, giorni d’amaro pianto’ was a prime example. Dessay was blocked to leap mid-aria from the rocks of the park onto the bare stage. In the rush of it all as she leapt, her ankle gave out, and she fell softly on her a$$, missing a few notes in the shock of omg omg I just bust a$$ while broadcasting in Times Square. Dessay, the consummate pro, covered it up well, only later accepting an outstretched arm from Michaela Marten’s Alisa at the end of the duet to help her off the floor. Dessay acknowledged instantly the accident, and as the applause filled the house (with loads and loads of encouraging, forgiving, understanding brave), she hung her head humbly to the side. She also referenced the slip in her grand, final curtain call, pretending she had a bad leg that fell from under her (more below).

Another kink was during the very beginning of Act II, Scene I in Enrico’s apartment. As witnessed during the September 20 dress rehearsal, the transition to Scene II’s wedding banquet occured when servants came into the apartment and removed the drop-clothes from the furniture, and deconstructed the window shades. However, quickly into the first scene, one of the covered windows lost its shade, which tumbled unprovoked to the floor. Mariusz Kwiecien [Enrico] waltzed slowly over to the scene of the crime, regarded the fallen curtain with a slight shrug, and the audience giggled accordingly. It was pretty looooolllll.

Later during the signing of the marriage contract [see here for a blow-by-blow of the debate], Zimmerman took the feedback proactively from Dessay, who was perplexed to as why the audience laughed at a very critical and disturbing part of drama ["It's not funny," "It's terrible!"] Instead of Enrico grabbing Lucia’s hand and signing the contract manipulating her, she indeed does it of her own volition, and hilarity thankfully, did not ensue.

Aside from that, Dessay’s il dolce suono was magnificent, fragile, and terrifying. As much as I hated the narrative technique of the sedative-administering doctor, this time it worked, as Dessay held her recently-pricked arm and worked her way down into an exhaustive stupor before finally collapsing. She cut back on the maniacal laughter, and this time emitted an ear-shattering scream, like a trapped and bewildered animal, which sounded from the depths of a truly haunted woman. I don’t know what she’s channeling, but dang don’t stop, girl! Her applause afterwards was deafening and howling, lasting an indefinite parsec.   

One other noticeable concern was tenor Marcello Giordani’s suddenly failing voice during the final scene. His Tombe degli avi miei was breathtaking, with a premeditated, teasingly-slow pace. But by the time he got to Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali, his voice was weak, with a hard edge. There’s no doubt that he’s definitely in need of a few days off. Regardless, he rawked the entire first two acts, just as he had established himself as the indisputable star during the September 20th Open House.

During final curtain call, Natalie lifted her skirt to show her boots, and mimed a comedic fall & slip, alluding to the earlier scene during Act I at the fountain of the Siren where she almost ate it…and then she made a bunch of other highly slapstick motions…[like that one you gave to passing truckers on school field trips to get them to blow their air horn].  I <3 this woman. Opera would be so freaking boring without her.

Levine’s conducting was predictably excellent, but on the second listen, he still doesn’t get it. I will forever <3 the afro’d maestro, but his Lucia leaves OC with the knowledge that she’s heard one of the greatest living conductors, but not one of his finest interpretations.

At the end of the entirely too-long evening, a Lucia that lasted four hours couldn’t possibly sustain the packaged hype that the MET machine churned-out for the past few months. Enjoyable and packed with talent, Zimmerman’s direction becomes a bit too ghoulish bordering on campy, starting and ending with zombie Lucia. We also didn’t like how many sets seemed wrought with detail and intricacies (like the Act I fountain of the Siren), while others (Act III Wolf’s Craig Castle) extraordinarily dull and careless. And the mad scene is kinda incongruous: I mean, a wooden staircase in a Scottish castle? Is it really that hard to get some faux pierre up in here?

(Pavs singing Una furtiva lagrima on the big screen from out front of the Metropolitan Opera House. Intermission got boring, so we headed outside to view the jumbo-tron).

(Netrebko showing-off the goods on the big screen).

(This is what you guys looked like to us from the Grand Tier).

Later today video will appear right here at OC blog of that additional curtain call on the Grand Tier, so check back l8r.

I'll Be Bustin Routines & Rhymes All Night

The season opener earlier tonight at The Metropolitan Opera was off tah heezy. It was a memorable, if not exhausting Lucia, which ran almost forty minutes overtime. Stay tuned for moar details, tons of images, and v v v v videos!!

For now, here is one of the better images from tonight to give you a taste of what's to come:

ZOMBIE NATALIE!! DONUT EAT MY BRIANS!! DAMN YOU ZIMMERMAN! THIS IS ALL UR FAULT!

//^^^^above image was snapped after curtain call finished, and Dessay, et cetera stopped by the Grand Tier balcony to take a curtain call for the audience watching in Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza.

How did that vvvvvvvvv become that ^^^^^^^

 

MET Rocks a Block Party 'til Your Hair Turns Grey

(Promos from the front page of The Metropolitan Opera's website found here)

OC will be there. Will you?! If not, luckily it won't be that difficult to keep track of opening night festivities of The Metropolitan Opera's 2007-08 season. With its marked success from last year's new Minghella production of Madama Butterfly, the NYC Metropolitan Opera will once again broadcast live to Times Square the September 24, 2007 opening night/la prima/evening gala performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, while a simultaneous relay will be played on a giant screen at Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza. Although the event at Robertson Plaza is free, advance tickets are required for attendance to the broadcast in Lincoln Center Plaza, and were available first-come, first-serve at the Metropolitan box office from 12 noon yesterday, Sunday, September 23, 2007.

If you’re feeling more social, you can head down to Times Square, where the simulcast, live from the MET, can be seen on the following outdoor plasmas starting at 6:30 pm: Toys “R” Us, Reuters, NASDAQ, and Panasonic’s AstroVision screen, all @ broadway between 43rd and 45th streets.  Approximately 1,500 seats will be available for the public on a first-come first-served basis in the <3 of Times Square, with additional standing room provided. RUN!!! The Times Square relay is free, and tickets are not required. Thank you, Deutsche Bank!

For those who aren't in NYC, the performance will also be broadcast live on Sirius's channel 85 (you must be a subscriber) as well as being streamed live from The Metropolitan Opera’s website, (you don’t have to be a subscriber, but the trade-off is that you will have to install the bloated Realplaya software). If all else fails, you can try to catch a silent peek on a Times Square webcam.

We must admit that we've been reading The Metropolitan Opera's clever new production countdown blog for Lucia di Lammermoor since the inaugural entry on September 11th. Featuring daily interviews and insight from cast and crew, we feel it has brought us closer to the lol Lucia madness lol that is currently making NYC hysterical. EEYSTERICAL!

With fifteen hours to go until la prima, and running out of promos, Saturday's entry focused on the opera's furriest stars, the two Irish Wolfhounds that appear at the beginning of Act I. Tomorrow will mark the theater debut for Murphy and Gracie, the 2 1/2-year-old Irish sweeties owned by Robin Coen. The dogs will be in black tie for tonight's performance, of course.   

(Photo credit: Marty Sohl, taken from http://blog.metoperafamily.org)

Prima la Prima: Moda NYC

**Warning: This post is full of spoilers and may contain traces of milk, peanuts, egg, and/or crustacean shellfish. If you’re going to get cranky about it, quiet plz tia tia.

>>>>>>>>>>SPOILERS AHOY!!!!!!<<<<<<<<<<

Yesterday’s Open House at the NYC Metropolitan Opera House was a huge success. Doors opened at 9:00am and guests were invited to sample different booths, à la 6th grade science fair, including lighting technicians, costumiers (lace makers), set models, Ms. Cecilia Brauer on armonica, and a half-dozen more.

At 11:00am began the trifecta of rehearsals for Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Act I ran for roughly 44 minutes, and was introduced by Peter Gelb, who made a dedication of the performance to Beverly Sills. He called the rehearsal a “working performance”, and asked that the audience refrain from leaving their seats at the end of the acts until the house lights went up, in case Jimmy had to retool any of the passages. Levine took to the podium in a relaxed casual set, black cotton pants and an ample black polo shirt. The orchestra also wore t-shirts and jeans, kicks and corduroys.

The overture started, and a white screen that filled the entire diameter of the stage illuminated, with a solitary black branch reaching down from the upper left-hand corner. A covered by a rolling, bluish fog, which symbolized the patch of woods of the Ravenswood estate near the castle. The white screen rose, to reveal yet another layer of scenery:  a black, thick, stage-sized screen, with a gigantic door cut-out, that allowed just a window of the background scenery to be seen. The rocks remained, leading to a big hill, where appeared Normanno and the rest of his searchers. There were two gigantic, live dogs, scouring the hills with the retainers! Sweeet! Doggies! The black felty cutout screen was totally boring, and seemed unfinished.

Levine and the orchestra was in great form, but now returning from the strains of Filarmonica della Scala after a year and a half of indoctrination, Levine and the MET Orchestra have a trademark patina, a very comforting and expected sound, which is not completely adept at interpreting bel canto as I would have hoped. Maestro Levine covered the orchestra tremendously with gorgeous color and depth, as always, a perfect match in the opera hall. Bright and brisk, but lacking something quintessentially bel canto. Levine stated [afterwards at the Q&A] that he had never done before a full opera version of Lucia, and we were duly honored to be part of the performance.

Scene II began as the retainers clear-out, and snow began to fall from the sky, visible through the gigantic window cut-out. Miraculously, the black felty screen finally rose, revealing a breathtaking scene: Twilight in the park, the crumbled fountain of the Siren, and a great hill covered in spiny trees. Purple, stormy winter skies and dead foliage scattered over the rocks. Just when you are recovering from the gorgeous atmospheric splendor, Dessay appeared in a full Victorian black coat and ruffled floor-length skirt. Very goth, very pure. During “Regnava nel silenzio”, the spirit of the young girl who was murdered by her jealous lover became personified as a zombie ghost in a full white gown and platinum hair, and drifted towards Lucia, caressed her, and then disappeared into the fountain of the Siren. RINGU!!!!!!!! omg I almost ran out of the theatre crying. *four people died from watching that videotape!*

And that was the end of Act I. There was a 45 minute break between each act, with the first one serving-up lunch bags for sustenance. The lunch bags contained one (1) apple, Macintosh, byotches; one (1) bottled water, Evian; two (2) cookies, chocolate and white chocolate; three (3) sandwiches, hammykins, creamykins, and lunchykins; one (1) complimentary all-access 2007-08 Met Opera season pass. What’s that? You didn’t get a complimentary season pass in your lunch-bag? Looks like your mom’s not a Jif® mom. oh well sucks 4u!

Act II ran for 44 minutes, and began with another white silkscreen, this time tangled with a veritable forest, much like the promo textile pieces hanging on the MET façade these days. The curtain rose onto Enrico’s apartment, a huge hall in minty-limey green, two floor-to-ceiling windows on the left, and two smaller doors on the right. Set designer Daniel Ostling explained that he had come across this similar color frequently on his visits to Scotland. The only props were massive mounds of furniture covered in drop clothes, and an uncovered desk upstage on the left. Dessay was in a beautiful indoor cotton dress, adherent to the Victorian style with a green bow tied around her waist.

Dessay’s interplay with Mariusz Kwiecien’s Enrico was captivating, and at times powerful (except when he grabbed Dessay’s hand to sign the marriage contract, which backfired Zimmerman’s not-comedic direction, perplexed the singers, but somehow managed to titillate the NYC crowds). Kwiecien said at the Q&A that he loves to play the bad guy on the stage, because it is such a departure from his real-life good-guy persona.

The audience witnessed during this scene the lighting technicians tinkering with the lights, one of the first reminders that this was indeed a “working performance”. After the stellar duets between Dessay and Kwiecien, servants came into the room and prepared the great apartment by stripping it clean of all the dust clothes and window coverings. They revealed two giant chandeliers (these are sooo from Act II, Scene II of Zeff’s La Traviata, that I fittingly expected matadors and gypsies to storm the hall and start dancing), candelabras, and giant palms. Scene II’s wedding guests arrived, and Mara Blumenfeld’s excellent costume prowess was demonstrated. She chose to use lustrous silks, all in grey and white. The entire chorus was outfitted in subtlety grand ball dresses, in grays with white polka dots, stripes, and solids, very Dior Fall 2007 couture.

Marcello Giordani’s Edgardo was immense, displaying a gigantic scope of singing and unflagging color. He last made his Open House appearance last year as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and admitted that the last time he sang Lucia was eight years ago. Arrived Dessay in a magenta dress (which, IMO was too high on magenta and blue…a true red would have been more visually stunning. But curiously enough, Mara Blumenfeld explained that during the Victorian era, red was an acceptable and popular color for wedding gowns. Also, the marriage and signing of the marriage contract were usually two different ceremonies in the Victorian times, which is why she chose to dress Dessay in a different gown for the scene). John Relyea's Raimondo looked the hawtness dressed in his sassy party pants.

The sextet was pretty insane, and Michaela Marten’s Alisa proved a solid, strong voice, at a few passages even singing over Dessay (but my suspicions are that Dessay was saving her voice to be in top form for Monday’s la prima). Dessay was like a little puppet, so petit and graceful, and so willing to be manipulated by all those around her. The aberration to the scene was an olde tyme photographer who arranged a marriage portrait among the guests while the singers were getting their sing on. From a historical p.o.v, the attention to detail was nicely accurate, and it helped pushed the narrative, but I’m not sure it was necessary. And that was the end of Act II.

Act III, at 62 minutes, began with wild ejaculations for Jimmy as he walked back out to the podium. Again we saw the trademark white screen with branch silhouettes in black, but this time there were six. As the orchestra began to introduce the banquet hall inside the castle, lightening flashed across the screen. The screen raised and revealed another one of those full-stage, black felty cut-outs, with a tiny window up top, and a small set of stairs in the center. This was the ruins of Wolf’s Craig Castle, and pretty freaking lame. Edgardo sat at a desk again, and lightning flashes were projected onto the black felt. omg so boring. This scene barely registers in my memory because it was so nondescript.

Finally, the black structure raised to usher-in Scene II, the scene of the festivities, which was not the most impressive scenery, but we are regardless happy for a bit of color. A long hallway landing, railed, and running horizontal to the top of the stage, was lowered. Connected to that, and spiraling downward to the stage floor, was a large staircase, at least 7-people wide. The chorus appeared again, all in sumptuous silvers, while Lucia in her white wedding dress ran across the top runway, the oblivious guests below. Costume designer Mara explained that the dress was inspired by Charles Frederick Worth’s 19th century fashion house.

Raimondo announced Lucia’s sickness, as she ran around the upper landing, making stabbing motions at her veil, and then dropping the bloody prop from the top banister, as it floated down to the chorus below and cleaved the masses. Dessay ran wildly down the stairs, and here began the ethereal glass H-armonica. Dessay was wearing to-the-elbow white gloves, which were marked on the fingers in blood, also staining her bodice, and the hem of her dress. She laughed like a madwoman (but not cackling) and tumbled down the last two steps, falling to the floor in a dead faint.

Her voice was clear, and all the ornamentation she allowed greatly enhanced the dramatic action. She looked like a little doll in her dress, fluttering around stage like a wiry puppet. She draped herself over the prompter box as the chorus huddled around her, and peeled off her white gloves, a woman deranged. She retreated to the stairs and manically laughed again as she tried to annihilate the veil with her hands. Superb. She was as light as air, nervously twitching and spastically emoting as a woman in trauma. At the end of the mad scene, she received tante brave as she held a pose draped still over the arms of two men. She was amazing. Well deserved cheers. She wasn’t the rage of Callas but more the madness of a desperate woman. When Zimmerman was questioned in the Q&A, she replied that she wanted to make her Lucia more fragile than usual, and created a marked difference in her sanity as the opera progressed, marking her descent into madness more poignant.

Scene III: the staircase rolled away, the top banister landing was absorbed into the ceiling, and the cemetery of Ravenswood Castle is established. Nighttime clouds and a large moon were projected on the back of the stage, completely bare. An arch lowered from the ceiling and framed the background, in the center a brambly tree and a few tombstones. Here Levine called on Edgardo at “Tombe degli avi miei” to take a few measures pause before his entrance, and stopped him to re-block the scene. When Marcello Giordani finished the aria, he was met with a well-deserved, sustained applause and tanti bravi.

The train of mourners arrived from the Lammermoor Castle, and I particularly liked Zimmerman’s attention to detail, as she had sprayed-down the mourners’ black umbrellas with glistening moisture, adding greatly to the realism of a cold, Scottish rain. Edgardo’s last was “Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali”. Zimmerman reanimated the spirit from Act I now as Lucia, who came from the tombs and caressed Edgardo, then stabbed him in the stomach, holding him as he died. She was done-up in pale-face, as a zombie bride, too bulky for her, and a little too campy. The End. During curtain call, Dessay, the methodical ballerina, bowed and touched her fingertips to her toes. The rehearsal was over 2:45pm-ish, and then another 15 minutes of Jimmy retooling a few key parts with the orchestra. 3:00 pm began the Q&A panel with all the key singers and production team, and then until 5:00 pm was the queue to walk across the MET stage.

Dessay, during the Q&A, was as witty, self-deprecating, and clever as usual. When asked about her preparations for the role, answered that she collaborated with Zimmerman, and focused on adding layers to her character. When asked about how she stays healthy, she said she eats seeds in the morning [like a little bird!], and tries not to catch any diseases.

I don't think I could have said it better than that. 

//sarahb has some great photos from the open house on her blog here. 

Putting teh Saix Back in Dessaix.

OC is back from the thrilling Lucia di Lammermoor OPEN HOUSE earlier at the Metropolitan Opera, and must first hang up properly her Marni jacket, Marc Jacobs silk shell, and lovingly put her YSL's back in their silk baggies. Manners, manners.

Here I will drop just one quick anecdote from earlier this afternoon. Later tonight I will post pictures, scene-by-scene replay, and loads of **spoilers**! 

kicked out teh haus..you. were. kicked out teh haus...said HRH Natalie Dessay to the NYC audience after the performance, disapproving of the house's laughter during the Act II, Scene II's signing of the marriage contract (la mia condanna ho scritta!). The query was begged by Dessay during the Q&A, m.c.'d by Margaret Juntwait, which followed the performance (from 3:00-3:30 pm). As Dessay grabbed the microphone and turned the questions back on the questioners, she asked earnestly and frankly to the house: "Why did you laugh during the contract scene?" [...] "Why is it funny?" [...] "It's not funny." [...] "It's terrible!"...leaving the rest of the panel to clumsily clarify the meaning of "irony". Awkward.

<3 <3 <3 u Sexay Dessay.

|^^^^^^^^^^^\||____
|.The Dessay Truck..|||'""|""\__,_
| __Dessay 4evar __ l||__|__|__|)
|(@)@)"""""""**|(@)(@)**|(@)

Thank you Dr. Varis & Mr. Leichtman! (No Not U O.J.)

(A smiling O.J. And yes I read the NY Post on occassion. What of it? omg free lunchz0rs. There best be some capri sun and those cheese n' crackers with that red stick...or someone's gonna get suckapunched.)

The first of the three, free bootyshakin' Metropolitan Opera Open House initiatives is about to launch in a few precious hours, and Opera Chic couldn't resist a sneak-a-peek before the Monday, September 24 la prima of Donizetti's Lucia (di Lammermoor) (not Saint Lucy of Syracuse). OC, of course, will be among the celebrity and opera die-hards on Monday, but a complimentary ticket to anything opera is as hard to pass-up as an invite to a sample sale at Costume National.

Today's day-long, final dress rehearsal of Lucia di Lammermoor is dedicated to the legacy of Beverly Sills, at the wish of Open House sponsors Dr. Agnes Varis (Managing Director on the Met Opera Board) and her husband, Karl Leichtman. The super-twin wonder-team of Agnes & Karl had not only sponsored the Open House of Madama Butterfly last year, but has also underwritten the Met Opera Rush Ticket program, which reserves 200 orchestra seats two hours before Monday-Thursday performances, offering sweet seats at 80% savings.

Since General Manager Peter Gelb had last year taken over Joseph Volpe's previous 16-year tenure, the Met Opera has been trailblazing accessibility of American opera with a ginormous outreach program and constant, complimentary perks offered to the public. Last year's Minghella-directed new production of Madama Butterfly was the first open house EV4R offered by MET opera, and proved to be a huge success...so we must give props to Met Opera for continuing to give the people what they want. Included in what the people want is a Q&A with performers Natalie Dessay (Lucia), Marcello Giordani (Edgardo), Mariusz Kwiecien (Enrico Suave), and John Relyea (Raimondo) after the performance, a complimentary bagged lunch, and a not-forbidden stroll across the stage. Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Lucia rehearsal begins at 11:00 a.m., but doors open at 10:00 a.m. for special exhibits and demonstrations throughout the lobby space.

Earlier this week, the rush for free tickets to the Lucia Open House began @ 10am this past Monday, September 17, via either box office phone line (that remained busy for at least the first hour) or the website (that simultaneously had some connectivity issues for the first hour), and boasted a maximum of two tickets per person, with customers having until 8pm the next day to show up for seating that was doled on a first-come/first-serve. btw, we laud the nerdy, lovable IT department behind the golden curtain at the MET for their tech-savvy prowess that incredibly stopped the servers from completely melting-down during the Monday morning rush.

The second Open House of the 2007-08 season is on Friday, December 21, for the final dress rehearsal for Director Richard Jones’s new staging of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel... with Vladimir Jurowski on the podium. 

More exciting is the last Open House of the season on Friday, April 18...the final dress rehearsal of Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment under Laurent Pelly's direction. This one will surely be the most difficult ticket to secure, as it stars both Natalie Dessay and opera superstar Juan Diego Flórez.

Let's hope that the smattering of evil opportunists on craigslist get some karmic smack-down before then.

Mary Zimmerman's Mad Skillz: 17 Crazy Minutes

"It's seventeen minutes, and you just can't have Lucia walking around and being totally crazy all that time. I'm trying to structure the scene, to shape it visually and emotionally — who is still and not still. And not just Lucia, but the surrounding crowd that watches her."

Mary Zimmerman's on Lucia's mad scene, coming up at the Met three weeks from now.