Opera Chic

Is that Sacagawea Over There Behind Franz Kafka?

Since everyone in America seems to be lamenting the end of the opera season (as the first weekend without live-from-the-MET Opera-broadcasts has just passed), you can kill some time doing the "guess the historical dead person" contest, courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera. The deadline is tonight at midnight, so sharpen those pencils, get out those magnifying glasses, and dust-off those fifth-grade history books.

lol Now for a little back-story lol: To hype the new Mark Morris production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (or as Juntwait sez: "Oreos and YUUUR-idice"), the crafty NYC Metropolitan Opera team offered a game asking listeners to discern the identity of the almost 100 costumed chorus members, brainchild of costumière Isaac Mizrahi.

//fyi fyi I already put in my submissions, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win (sry guys): In addition to Ben Franklin, Marie Curie, Liberace, Gandhi, Abe Lincoln, and Henry Viii, I found LeVar Burton's Geordi from Star Trek Next Generation, Max von Sydow's Emperor Ming, Roy Scheider's Joe Gideon/Bob Fosse, Internet Celebrity SuperGreg, and the dancing peanutbutterjellytime banana.

Although the prize is kinda weak (2 tickets and a backstage tour), it's better than trolling OperaShare for the latest “Gheorghiu Sings Schubert's Winterisse live from Moblie Alabama Opera".

Now let's all to go Mizrahi's house and beat the crap out of him for the right answers. I'll light the torches, you guys gather the pitchforks.

Maggio Fiorentino Flies With Muti's "Orfeo"

Opera Chic really digs Gluck's Orfeo, but it also makes her sad -- because the greatest Orfeo ever, the Ferrier/Barbirolli, only happened twice, before illness cruelly robbed the world of Kathleen Ferrier's luminous presence (as an hommage to Klever Kaff's immortal voice, VIP Records hosts a mp3 of the Che Farò Senza Euridice? aria of her Orfeo, under Stiedry's baton. The link is in the page linked above).

Anyway: a luckyducky friend who has just had the chance to catch the general rehearsal of Riccardo Muti conducting Gluck's Orfeo e Euridice at Maggio Musicale in Florence, with Daniela Barcellona and Andrea Rost, reports awesome things to Opera Chic -- "He really makes it fly: it's Muti impersonating his younger self, airy and light, unafraid of letting the music sing. Just beautiful".

Performances tonight and tomorrow for lucky fiorentini and visitors.