By La Cieca 
A rare production of Rossini’s Otello, with a perhaps even rarer stage performance by Cecilia Bartoli (in her role debut as Desdemona) should provide an interesting afternoon’s viewing this Thursday.
The production, which won a rave review from Zachary Woolfe, was recorded live at the Opernhaus Zürich and will be webcast on medici.tv on March 8 starting at 1:00 pm.
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.
Get our free weekly newsletter delivered to your email.
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.
