Birthday anninversaries of composer William Grant Still (1895) and soprano Bidu Sayao (1902).
A happy song
On this day in 1965 the Kander-Ebb musical Flora, the Red Menace opened at the Alvin Theatre to run 87 performances.
By La Cieca
On this day in 2002 tenor Salvatore Licitra made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Cavardossi.On this day in 1881 Smetana’s Libuse premiered in Prague.
La Cieca
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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Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
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.
