La Cieca is delighted to note that that ragtag band of misfits known as the Vertical Player Repertory will return to their non-traditional performing venue, the Red Hook Marine Terminal, for a new production of The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, weekend evenings at 8 pm September 5-21.

Following up on last season’s successful staging of Puccini’s Il tabarro (“exhilarating,” gasped Brian Kellow in Opera News), this production of the Offenbach classic will be set “in the open air, dockside, surrounded by a panorama of gantry cranes, the lumber port, passing vessel traffic and a spectacular view of Governor’s Island and the Lower Manhattan skyline. ”

Ticket information and (be sure to check this!) instructions for traveling to the Red Hook Marine Terminal may be found at smarttix.com.

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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