The next voice you hear

La Cieca is delighted to announce that she has joined the cast of WQXR’s radio edition of “Operavore.” Your doyenne will offer her all-too-familiar brand of biting commentary weekly on the show every Saturday at 12:30pm ET on 105.9 FM in New York and online at www.wqxr.org.

Hosted by WQXR’s Naomi Lewin, “Operavore” promises to “keep the pulse of the opera scene, delighting fans with opera news bulletins from the around the globe, previews of new recordings, and interviews with the players and personalities on the scene.”

Marilyn Horne, America’s legendary mezzo, will be on hand each week to give an insider’s take on stories and productions, as well as to interview bold-faced names from outside the opera space – including highly successful playwright Terrance McNally (Master Class and Golden Age); US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and beloved star of TV and stage, Tyne Daly, who performed the role of Maria Callas in McNally’s Master Class – on their personal relationship with the genre.

Weekly commentary will be provided by your own La Cieca, described somewhat curiously in the press release as “the alter ego of critic and opera enthusiast James Jorden, who presides over the popular[?] opera fan website, Parterre Box.” For those of you not interested in weekly commentary, blogger Fred Plotkin, hailed by The Robb Report as “[knowing] more about opera than probably any other American,” will offer opinion and insight.

“We are thrilled to launch this new show as the perfect next step in WQXR’s expanded opera coverage,” said Graham Parker, General Manager, WQXR. “Since launching Operavore last January, we have been plugged into the passionate, vibrant audience for ‘everything opera’. The new show aims to appeal to both those who know a little and those who know a lot about opera using humor, music, engaging guests and up-to-the-minute news.”

“Operavore” will air every Saturday from January 19 – May 25, 2013. The producer is Elaine Warner, who formerly produced the weekly Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. The Operavore radio show will launch as a limited-run series to complement WQXR’s weekly broadcasts of live and recorded full-length works from the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Houston Grand Opera.