White Shirt Monday: Black Delt

 

[Does anyone of you remember the ludicrous old German TV ad for “Drei Wetter Taft” hairspray? Featuring a business woman traveling three different climates in a day, with the tagline of ‘every hair in place’?
Syracuse shore, 7:45 p.m.: Sea mist on the rowboat. Every hair in place. #BelcantoHair.
Mt. Etna Foothills, 9:30 p.m.: Throwing an unjustified tantrum in dry mountain air. Every hair in place. #BelcantoHair.
Ferrara Ending, 10 p.m.: Dying (but in great company). Still major hairgame.
Patrizia Ciofi (Amenaide) and Marianna Pizzolato (Tancredi) in Rossini’s Tancredi”, Pesaro 2004. – Here’s the clip that came up with this ingenious cover shot, with thanks to jovi1715]

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Elviras of the Caribbean

[Elviras of the Caribbean, fighting Zombie Pirates with tattoes and doing their best Hammarström impression: Marie-Adeline Henry (Elvira) and  Robert Gleadow (Leporello) in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” as staged by Ivan Alexandre, Drottningholm 2017. – Photo Credit: Mats Bäcker]

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A Twitter timeline can offer beautiful (in)sights.

What’s also beautiful: the full review over at Ôlyrix.

White Shirt Monday: Semiramide Problems (BSO Edition)

[When the Trouser Mezzo would go very well with your couch color scheme, but simply won’t take a hint, and other #SemiramideProblems – courtesy of the live broadcast with Daniela Barcellona (Arsace) and Joyce DiDonato (Semiramide) in Rossini’s “Semiramide”, Munich/BSO 2017.]

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(Screenshot Extravaganza for all those who couldn’t follow the stream last night due to the technical hiccups, featuring the Chorus of Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Joyce DiDonato (Semiramide), Daniela Barcellona (Arsace), Alex Esposito (Assur), Lawrence Brownlee (Idreno), Elsa Benoit (Azema) Simone Alberghini (Oroe) and Galeano Salas (Mitrane)).

Through Geschwitz’s Lorgnette: “Giasone” from Geneva

[So, on a scale from one to ten, how straight does this image look to you, with 1 being narrow naysay, and 10 being unicorns galopping across a rainbow?
If you said 12, then we’re in for a lovely reading of Cavalli’s “Giasone”, with the subheaders #PerfectlyPoly and #KeepYourBinaryOutOfMyBaroque.
– Mariana Flores (Alinda) and Kristina Mkhitaryan (Isifile) in Cavalli’s “Giasone”, Geneva 2017]

Le Grand Théâtre de Genéve did not just put on that Petibon “Manon” this season, or Delphine Galou in a white suit in “Orfeo”, no, they went and had Serena Sinigaglia stage Cavalli’s “Giasone”, and if the director got one thing right, it is the relaxed pre-19th century approach to sensuality and sexuality as a nuanced hub of possibilities that can not be narrowed down to ideological boxes.
(this is not a review. this is just libretto queering in screencaps)
(all caps are tied in from Photobucket and will expand upon clicking. In case you need a closer look. For research.)

Semiramide Problems

#SemiramideProblems: When the core question of the evening is ‘Mustard or Mezzo?’ and all options sound great.

[Josef Wagner (Assur) and Ann Hallenberg (Arsace) in Rossini’s “Semiramide”, Ghent 2011]

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I know I posted these on Twitter already, but since they were so much fun, here’s an extended version while we wait for more Rossini tonight.

Giacomo Arbate: The Hunt for Legato Game (pt. 3)

…the name’s Arbate. Giacomo Arbate.

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[Silly Bond fun, concluded: 007 references meet the Brussels “Mitridate”. Intertextual hijinks ensue. Proceed at your own risk! – This is the final pt. 3, the prior installments can be found here and here]