“Come along for the ride with Lloyd Burlingame during the heyday of prolific producer David Merrick…. Fasten your seatbelts as Burlingame transitions to the realm of opera and is afforded the opportunity to design new productions for such divas as Beverly Sills, Martina Arroya [sic], Joan Sutherland, and Leontyne Price…. From a grand lesson in form versus function with regards to the proper use of macaroni, to a dire warning from the revered costume designer Miss Irene Sharaff, to a special production calling for knowledge of African versus Asian elephants, Sets, Lights, and Lunacy has it all.” [PR Web]
Consider me pitched
“Sets, Lights, and Lunacy has it all.”
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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Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
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.
