By La Cieca 
According to rumor, the 2012-2013 Met season was supposed to begin with a new staging of Eugene Onegin starring Anna Netrebko, Mariusz Kwiecien and Matthew Polenzani, but that got bumped to the following year, along the way losing a new production of Bohème. (The Board threatened to beat Peter Gelb to death with their lorgnettes or something.)
Anyway, Anna did sing Mimì in Salzburg in the summer of 2012, so that’s something.
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.
