Nicola Lischi was one of the early contributors to Parterre Box in its very first paper issues. He has written for Parterre Box under his own name and as “Ercole Farnese”. As a very young boy, he was introduced to opera by his grandfather, who, in addition to allowing him to listen to his large recording collection, took Nicola to his first opera, “Attila” at the Teatro Comunale of Florence in 1972, conducted by Riccardo Muti and starring Leyla Gencer and Nicolai Ghiaurov. As a teenager and as young man Nicola studied voice with Gino Bechi, Rosetta Noli and Carlo Bergonzi. He took a special interest in the so-called bel-canto repertoire. After moving to the United States, he began reviewing in 1991 as a correspondent for several Italian publications and the most important Italian RAI radio program. He also worked as an artists manager for about ten years and is now working for an agency specialising in public relations and marketing for opera singers. He is no longer reviewing.