La Cieca hears that the Ravinia Festival in 2014 will do a novel take on Strauss’s Salome, setting the work in Milan’s celebrated “Casa di Riposo per Musicisti Giuseppe Verdi.” Featured in this unusual performance will be the recently-nubile Patricia Racette in the title role, with Gabriele Schnaut and Wolfgang Schmidt as her grandparents.

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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