By La Cieca 
One thing Norman Lebrecht does better than anyone in the business: whipping up a racist frenzy.
And, of course, even in a racist frenzy, Lebrecht in his primary role of willfully ignorant blithering idiot manages to get the most salient fact wrong. The big reveal of La Juive is that Rachel is, in fact, not Jewish at all but rather the long-lost daughter of Cardinal de Brogni.
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.
