By La Cieca 
This is not how La Cieca hoped to begin her week. She has not even reached the Björk selections yet, but the Barber Knoxville already has her skin crawling. In this gratingly fussy performance, Renée Fleming doesn’t sound Southern. In fact, she doesn’t even sound Earthian.
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.
