Unnatural Acts Of Opera

Stimmdivas Ghena Dimitrova and Alessandra Marc sing arias by Verdi and Strauss.

Renata Scotto sings Elena in this 1970 performance of Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani from La Scala.

Renata Scotto sings Elena in this 1970 performance of Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani from La Scala.

Renata Scotto sings Elena in this 1970 performance of Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani from La Scala.

Renata Scotto sings Elena in this 1970 performance of Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani from La Scala.

Renata Scotto sings Elena in this 1970 performance of Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani from La Scala.

The third act of Puccini's La fanciulla del West, as performed on June 15, 1954 at the Florence May Festival under the baton of maestro Dimitri Mitropolous. Mario del Monaco is Dick Johnson, Eleanor Steber is the eponymous Girl of the Golden West, Minnie, and Giangiacomo Guelfi is Sherriff Jack Ran...

The second act of Puccini's La fanciulla del West, as performed on June 15, 1954 at the Florence May Festival under the baton of maestro Dimitri Mitropolous. Mario del Monaco is Dick Johnson, Eleanor Steber is the eponymous Girl of the Golden West, Minnie, and Giangiacomo Guelfi is Sherriff Jack Ran...

The first act of Puccini's La fanciulla del West, as performed on June 15, 1954 at the Florence May Festival under the baton of maestro Dimitri Mitropolous. Mario del Monaco is Dick Johnson, Eleanor Steber is the eponymous Girl of the Golden West, Minnie, and Giangiacomo Guelfi is Sherriff Jack Ranc...

When the last act of an opera takes place in the Tower of London, you can probably figure out which way the plot is heading. The question is -- who's going to the executioner's block, Fabiano or Gilberto? Following the opera, "The Enigmas of La Cieca" returns for an encore.

A 1998 live performance of Gomes' opera MARIA TUDOR (which is based on an improbable play by dear Victor Hugo). So, here we are at the third act, and now things really start getting complicated. It's not easy to top this dementia of Elaine Coelho's "Bloody Mary," but La Cieca is going to try. From D...

A 1998 live performance of Gomes' opera MARIA TUDOR (which is based on an improbable play by dear Victor Hugo). The heroine is the Queen of England known to history as Bloody Mary. As depicted by Gomes, Maria is regal, highly conflicted and given to sudden plunges into open chest voice. All that plu...

A 1998 live performance of Gomes' opera MARIA TUDOR (which is based on an improbable play by dear Victor Hugo). The heroine is the Queen of England known to history as Bloody Mary. As depicted by Gomes, Maria is regal, highly conflicted and given to sudden plunges into open chest voice. All that plu...

Montserrat Caballe discovers the downside of fabulousness in the final acts of this 1967 performance of Massenet's Manon. Also starring in this New Orleans Opera production are John Alexander and Louis Quilico. Plus more Franco and the return of The Enigmas of La Cieca!

Montserrat Caballe discovers the downside of fabulousness inthis 1967 performance of Massenet's Manon. Also starring in this New Orleans Opera production are John Alexander and Louis Quilico.

Montserrat Caballe discovers the downside of fabulousness inthis 1967 performance of Massenet's Manon. Also starring in this New Orleans Opera production are John Alexander and Louis Quilico.

Montserrat Caballe discovers the downside of fabulousness inthis 1967 performance of Massenet's Manon. Also starring in this New Orleans Opera production are John Alexander and Louis Quilico.

A radiant performance from the Salzburg Festival 1954. Featured are Lisa della Casa, Hilde Gueden, and Rudolf Schock. Karl Boehm leads the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.

A radiant performance from the Salzburg Festival 1954. Featured are Lisa della Casa, Hilde Gueden, Irmgard Seefried, Rudolf Schock and Paul Schoeffler. Karl Boehm leads the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Your hostess for the show is La Cieca, cultural doyenne at parterre box.

Leyla Gencer defines grandezza in this live 1971 performance of Ponchielli's La gioconda from La Fenice. Also starring Umberto Grilli (Enzo), Maria Luisa Nave (Laura) and Mario Zanasi (Barnaba); Oliviero de Fabriitis conducts.