By La Cieca 
“…this stage still has a tendency, it seems, to swallow some of the bloom and resonance of voices…. For both works, the orchestra came through just fine. Less so the voice, though the sound was honest and clear…. the amplification did not make these singers much more audible than those who sang the old-fashioned way…. Yet the sound of the pianos, placed behind a scrim, seemed distant.” [Need You Ask?]
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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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.
