By La Cieca 
La Cieca is sometimes asked what it is that a dramaturg does, or why it is that an opera house needs a dramaturg. Well, the events of recent weeks make that explanation fairly easy to frame.
Briefly, a dramaturg is the person hired by an opera company to make sure that things like the The Merry Widow don’t happen. I think we can all agree that this is an extremely important duty, and that, by extension, the Met desperately needs someone who can perform it.
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.
