Now, you know La Cieca likes taking a confrontational attitude with operatic authority figures as much as any other gadfly. But she is going to say that this Jeremy Gerard may be carrying the bitch-slapping just a wee bit too far in his current Bloomberg.com screed on the New York City Opera’s year-long hiatus (“City Opera is in dire financial straits and the recent hiring of opera newbie George Steel has hardly brightened the mood of doom” is one of the milder rebukes Gerard delivers.)

Your doyenne is beginning to believe that those conspiracy theories about the malign influence of Manuela Hoelterhoff may not be so far-out after all. Or is there another explanation for Bloomberg’s ferocious attitude toward The Man of Steel?

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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