Here’s an amusing soupcon from the Bay Area Reporter (where the late lamented Tiger Hashimoto once held sway). In his “Out There” column, Roberto Friedman rips the lid off a mini-scandal at the GayVN Awards. Apparently the nominating committee for this group honoring excellence in the gay porn industry were not listening with their “soul and ears” (to quote La Divina), or maybe not listening at all, when it came time for Best Score:

…. Seems the well-meaning soundtrack-provider has a predilection for the gems of the classical repertoire. So he offered a few airs from Donizetti ‘s L’Elisir d’Amore as background music — you know, to set the porno mood. What’s funny is that not one soul from the nominating committee realized the nominee hadn’t himself composed one of the most-performed of all Italian operas. Don’t queens come with a basic opera literacy anymore? Seems we must ever dedicate ourselves to the edification of the general public.

La Cieca sheds a furtive tear for your pain, Roberto.

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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