Here’s a story in which practically nobody in authority comes off well. Daniel Harding conducts a concert at La Scala that includes a selection from Tristan und Isolde, about which the Corriere della Sera‘s venerable critic Paolo Isotta snipes “Harding’s conducting was so soft it made you think he wanted to back the unfounded theory that Wagner was homosexual.” So then La Scala’s GM Stéphane Lissner kicks Isotta off the press list for the company: he can still review Scala events but will have to pay for his own ticket. [The Telegraph]
Sticks and stones
Here’s a story in which practically nobody in authority comes off well.
By La Cieca 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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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.