Regie, pagliaccio
By
La Cieca
It is not perhaps so surprising that even with the cleverest of the cher public participating, nobody jumped in with the right answer for last week’s Regie quiz. After all, the work depicted was Die Blume von Hawaii, the 1931 operetta composed, as you all know, by Paul Abraham to a libretto by Alfred Grünwald, Fritz Löhner-Beda, and Emmerich Földes.
So there’s this Hawaiian princess, see, who is betrothed to a prince of her own people, but she’s actually in love with this American marine officer, and did I mention that she is traveling incognito as a cabaret artiste in a vaudeville troupe with an African-American jazz singer? And then to top it all off, the volcano erupts. Anyway, the Helmut Baumann production is currently running at the Volksoper Wien.
Now, on to a work less obscure of title, but perhaps even more puzzling as to mise-en-scène:
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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Topics: Regie
