By La Cieca 
A privileged white male critic for the Wall Street Journal accomplished quite a hat trick earlier this week, simultaneously throwing red meat to the WSJ’s fascist commentariat and casting himself as a victim of the Culture Wars, fretting over the possibility that theater producers might have to stop and consider the racial implications of a 70 year old musical about race.
A couple of highlights from Teachout’s rant, since the WSJ arrogantly places all its content behind a paywall:
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.
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.
