So, who said this?

“… all opera hovers on the border of parody. No other performing art — except possibly dance — so exposes its practitioners to ridicule. Part of the thrill of opera is pitting sheer volume against human limitations, the constant awareness of the possibility of failure.”

Was it James McCourt? Ethan Mordden? Wayne Koestenbaum? Enzo Bordello?None of the above, actually. Would you believe it’s Anne Midgette, writing in the New York Times? Can it be that the queer opera aesthetic has gone utterly mainstream? Or is it simply that (as La Cieca has so long suspected) Ms. Midgette is a gay man trapped in a woman’s body?

Well, either way, AM has some intriguing points to make about Olive Middleton (recently the subject of a Donald Collup retrospective) and Vera Galupe-Borszkh (whose entire career is a retrospective of sorts). Midgette certainly makes La Cieca eager to delved into the delights of Collup’s Middleton CDs, produced with all the loving care so celebrated a camp diva deserves.

La Cieca

James Jorden (who wrote under the names "La Cieca" and "Our Own JJ") was the founder and editor of parterre box. During his 20 year career as an opera critic he wrote for the New York Times, Opera, Gay City News, Opera Now, Musical America and the New York Post. He also raised his voice in punditry on National Public Radio. From time to time he directed opera, including three unsuccessful productions of Don Giovanni. He also contributed a regular column on opera for the New York Observer. James died in October 2023.

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