Opera from a certain point of view. The best opera magazine on the web. Reviews, breaking news, critical essays, and brainrot commentary on opera from those demented enough to love it.
Works first published in 1924 and therefore entering the public domain today include George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, silent films by Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, and books such as Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India, and A. A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young.
Operas and operettas likely to join the public domain in the United States today include La cena delle beffe, Countess Maritza, The Cunning Little Vixen, Erwartung, Intermezzo, Rose-Marie and The Student Prince.
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.