Not what Tommasini had in mind

Last night I came across this topical piece in the NY Times by chief classical music and opera critic Anthony Tommasini. The subject is nudity in opera: when is it necessary and relevant, and how does it compare to nudity on stage and film? Tommasini’s “Take it Off, Brunnhilde” was interesting to consider in light of the recent bout of nudity on stage in Madison theaters, which 77 Square journalist and On the Aisle blogger Lindsay Christians recntly explored. The subject gets a different spin in this new post by OperaChic, the Milan-based, Juan Diego Florez-loving blogger known for her often hilarious coverage of opera gossip and events at La Scala and elsewhere. Apparently Playboy Magazine has discovered classical music is full of “babes,” and Danielle de Niese–pictured left and coming to the Wisconsin Union Theater in February–is at the top of their list. I think the Union Theater just found its marketing campaign for the Langdon Steet demographic…

For more substantial recent reading, you might want to take a peek at Tommasini’s review of the San Francisco Opera premiere of The Bonesetter’s Daughter, by Stewart Wallace with a libretto by Amy Tan. Mark Swed at the LA Times offers his take on the work too, along with Joshua Kosman at the San Francisco Chronicle. This sounds like it was the West-coast operatic event of the season (though Woody Allen’s Gianni Schicchi and the North American premiere of Howard Shore’s The Fly can’t be far behind).