Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I'm just sayin' is all

Someone who never forgets a detail tells me that in the Met's production of La Gioconda, La Cieca enters with Gioconda...which makes sense seeing as she can't so much see and all, and a seeing eye dog would distract everybody and risk animal applause, the banal bane of many an Aida production.

So what I'm saying is, a smart stage director might want to figure out a way around this, because there's going to be a strong presence there of Podles cultists, and some of them have been waiting 25 years for her to come back (I say them, not us...I was not inducted until 1998ish.) There is going to be a loudish reaction at her entrance, I imagine, and it seems a little unfair to Voigt to suffer the ambiguity of entering with her.

Much of the bloodsport of the ticket exchange is now happily over, with good results. It almost feels like time to start posting about opera again, only it really isn't. Over a month left! Meanwhile I may post some absurd bullshit about Almodovar. The minutes will fly by like hours....

3 comments:

Will said...

On the other hand, If Voigt is a real dyed-in-the-wool diva, she'll cheerfully assume the applause is, of course, meant for HER.

There's precedent: At Covent Garden, Melba and the young Martinelli were singing together. He made a sensation and during the calls the audience was chanting MartiNELLI, MartiNELLI. Behind the curtain, Melba beamed to all her colleagues, "Listen to those dear people--calling for me by my first name!" And she elbowed her way out for several more solo curtain calls.

Anonymous said...

Please write something about Almodovar, please.

Whereas I don't much care for Podles, or Voigt for that matter.

N.

Maury D'annato said...

Will: yes, yes, and I'm told that an optimistic Livia Budai believed the audience to be chanting her name rather than "Boo! Die!" upon her Macbeth debut. It's what we call the "Boo-urns" effect.

nhb: oh gosh, kid, be careful what you ask for. See blog.