By La Cieca [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/qvDWwm2MHlI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Many thanks to loyal reader Oliver for pointing us to this astonishing clip of Hildegard Knef singing “Seeräuber Jenny” from Die Dreigroschenoper. True, she was hardly an opera singer; in fact, Ella Fitzgerald once called her “the world’s greatest singer without a voice.” But as this clip demonstrates, La Knef was diva to her fingertips!
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.
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
