La Cieca is surprised to note that with only a day left in the spectacular Which Witch competition, there are only a few official entries, with a tie (10 correct each) between the top two contenders. It may be that your doyenne got a little cocky this time around and made the quiz impossibly difficult to solve, or (anything can happen!) perhaps the cher public have other things on their mind, e.g., Duncan Meadows‘s thing.

Anyway, here’s what La Cieca proposes. Suppose you, the public, select three of the 13 Ulricas you are having particular trouble identifying, and your doyenne will supply longer excerpts of each singer to facilitate the identification a little. In order to level the playing field entirely, those of you who have already submitted an entry in the contest will have the option of offering another guess. From this point, though, only one entry per email address will be considered.

All right then, which of the 13 Ulricas would you like to hear more from? You may vote for up to three. The poll will finish at 10:00 pm tonight and La Cieca will post the longer excerpts for the three you choose later tonight. The contest as a whole will still finish at midnight tomorrow, Halloween night, October 31.

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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