Sharpen those nails and slather on a fresh coat of “Jungle Red,” ladies, because La Cieca hears that “it’s on” between two of the biggest players in NYC’s opera criticism power gay elite. (Well, admittedly that’s not a large pool of talent, but what they lack in numbers they more than make up for in venom.)  Anyway, the first bitch-slap of the season is delivered by Brian Kellow of Opera News, and foremost among the cheeks targeted are those of New York Times Jill-of-all-trades Anthony Tommasini.

Unfortunately, good old Opera hasn’t bothered to offer an online version of Kellow’s article or, indeed, any of their monthly load of codswallop, so La Cieca has taken the liberty of offering a scan of one of the more lurid passages: