Opera Chic

Massenet's Manon at the Wiener Staatsoper with Diane Damrau

German soprano Diana Damrau covers her sweet goldilocks with an angsty razor cut for Jules Massenet's Manon, which opened at the Wiener Staatsoper last week. Conducted by Betrand de Billy, Damrau is in the title role as Ms. Lescaut vs. Ramón Vargas's Des Grieux. New Yorkers barely have to waitfor Damrau to sing again in NYC because she kicks-off her Big Apple takeover on January 24 at Carnegie Hall, where she's singing against James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for Beethoven's 5th and a Strauss/Schubert program.

Damn-Wow continues in February at NYC's Metropolitan Opera as Marie for Fille du Régiment(with Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio and Kiri Te Kanawa as the Duchess) and Rosina in Barbiere.

OC's still not over a missed Damn-Wow performance at La Scala early Fall 2009 when her friends reported back to her in NYC with tales of smelling salts and tears.

 

Rolando Finally Sings Werther, Le Monde Remains Underwhelmed

Ronaldo Villazon finally appeared as Werther in Paris. Le Monde was there:

"... but those who have heard Villazon's debut as Werther in 2003 at Opéra de Nice, know that he has lost power and color. He hasn't recovered, and his future remains uncertain."

Villazon just turned 37.

BREAKING NEWS : ROLANDO VILLAZON PULLS OUT OF TOMORROW'S WERTHER @ OPERA BASTILLE

Medical reasons, says AFP:

"Le ténor vedette franco-mexicain Rolando Villazon ne chantera pas le rôle-titre de "Werther" de Massenet samedi soir à l'Opéra Bastille à Paris "sur les conseils de son médecin", a annoncé vendredi l'institution lyrique dans un communiqué."

Thaïs in Torino, Frittoli's Bewbs Get Upstaged By Topless Chorus

Teatro Regio di Torino, under the musical direction of maestro Gianandrea Noseda, is currently staging Massenet's Thaïs. Opening night was awash with bewbs (thanks to Barbara Frittoli's Thaïs in a low-cut costume and topless chorus ladies -- a picture after the jump below), sensitive monkery in a black turtleneck (thanks to Lado Ataneli's Athanaël, tho we also must credit secondary cast's Simone Alberghini), twinkling orchestration (thanks to Noseda), and tumultuous chorus scrimmages, straight out of a Turner canvas (thanks to Stefano Poda's direction). The show runs until December 21, and it's a good excuse to visit Torino for Caffè Mulassano's excellent brioche (and espresso, of course). omg.

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**Click on the link below for xXx NSFW naked lady bewbs**

Post Berlin Manon Chat

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

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

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

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

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

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Suddeutsche Zeitung: Anna + Rolando = Opera As Product

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

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

heh.

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

Lap Opera: Anna Pole Dances

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

vvvvv xtra bonus vvvvv

Watch Villazón get tickled!

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

Netrebko + Villazon = Teh Seks

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

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

(vvvvvvvvvvvvv wtf???? vvvvvvvvvvvvv)

The Staatsoper's Manon is Netreb-tastic (Alagna who??)

Reports are trickling-in from tonight's la prima of the Netrebko/Alagna Massenet's Manon at the Vienna Staatsoper, and luckily Alagna kept a few mozartkugeln in his pockets, thus avoiding teh vap0rs.

In one article titled, "Netrebko rules in Massenet opera 'Manon'", a gushing review of Netrebko sidelines Alagna's performance:

"This time, that man was not Rolando Villazon but tenor Roberto Alagna as Des Grieux, her lover. But if Netrebko was missing her almost perennial partner, she didn't show it."

"She and Alagna were an example in animal magnetism, whether cuddling in bed in their simple Paris walk-up, clutching in church in the scene where she reclaims him from his life as a priest, or engaging in a final embrace as the stage turns dark, and the curtain prepares to fall."

"Alagna, too, delivered a bracing vocal and stage performance, as did the other principals, helping to lift what is sometimes considered a relatively lightweight opera into the realm of serious enjoyment."

Oooooohh! Y'all know Alagna is *soooo* hatin' on her right about now..."b!@ch stole my thunder!"

Alagna + Netrebko + Massenet's Manon = Let's Hope They Don't Boo Him

Clock's ticking for "clockwork tenor" Roberto Alagna: on Saturday night he's supposed to be on stage at the Vienna Staatsoper, for the Manon prima with Paris Hilton sidekick Anna Netrebko.

Slide show is here.