Joyce DiDonato confirms on her blog that she WILL perform the remaining Barbiere shows at the Royal Opera House - starting with tomorrow night, 7 July - in a WHEELCHAIR!
Check http://yankeediva.blogspot.com for all the latest updates straight from Joyce herself.
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Juan Diego Flórez is the new Simon Russell Beale. Official. So realistic was his slapstick acting that he convinced Tim Ashley of the Guardian that, "In act two, meanwhile, her Almaviva, Juan Diego Flórez, narrowly missed being clobbered by the lid of an open grand piano." Nope, it was all in character, as he thinks his 'singing teacher' disguise is about to get rumbled. He did exactly the same at the rehearsal.
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Despite having a correspondent in the house, the perenially fact-lite Guardian managed to cock up their report on Joyce's accident. According to them, she slipped "during a scene change towards the end of the first act" - when it was actually mid-scene and mid-act. (So - again - why should we trust you on the big news, Guardian?)
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Reviews in so far from Edward Seckerson in the Independent (published before I even got out of bed on Sunday morning, what a pro), Michael Church in the Independent blog, WhatsonStage.com, MusicOMH.com, MusicalCriticism.com, The Stage, Bloomberg and Boulezian blog.
