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.
Much too easy was the recent “Reverse Regie” quiz: all too obviously A Kiss to the Flame is a version of Il trovatore! A return to our traditional format does not mean a return to traditional staging, as you will see after the jump.
Chat tonight, naturally, during the prima of Le Comte Ory from the Met.
“Puppets, of course, can be diverting, but they have no depth. This is fine if your audience has, as Mr. Lepage must hope, childlike emotional demands. But ultimately, for an adult, watching puppets is simply boring after a while, not because they’re not beautifully done, but because they’re not alive. After the initial burst of […]
Three of the Met’s most cunning vocalists, Juan Diego Flórez, Joyce DiDonato and Diana Damrau, wrap their tongues around the trio from Le Comte Ory.
This just in from the Met press office: “On the advice of his doctors, James Levine will reduce his conducting dates at the Met for the rest of the current season while he continues to recover from recent procedures to alleviate back pain. His planned performances of Das Rheingold on March 30 and April 2 will […]
Just five hours from now: Parsifal! Musikalische Leitung: Manfred Honeck; Regie: Calixto Bieito; Gurnemanz: Attila Jun; Amfortas: Gregg Baker; Parsifal: Andrew Richards; Klingsor: Claudio Otelli: Kundry: Christiane Iven; Titurel: Matthias Hölle.
Kasper Holten, director of the hunkalicious film Juan as well as current artistic director of Royal Danish Opera, will succeed Elaine Padmore as director of opera at the Royal Opera House starting next year. [The Stage]
First night in Berlin, since the feared jet lag did not, in fact, do your doyenne in, was spent at the Komische Oper seeing Die Entführung aus dem Serail in the “notorious” Calixto Bieito production. La Cieca’s opinion?
La Cieca will next post from the dear old Deutschland, cher public!
“[J]udging singers in their 20s is truly difficult, especially with so much at stake for the finalists, including a $15,000 cash prize for each winner. Comparably gifted pianists in their 20s are much more likely to be technically assured and finished performers. Operatic voices, though, need long nurturing. Most young singers are still working out […]
While La Cieca (not pictured) is nosing about the Old World, she fully expects the rest of you to keep on chatting as necessary. A list of chat-appropriate broadcasts follows the jump.
Or, for those of you who don’t take pleasure as La Cieca does in inventing totally bogus German compound words, Itinerary for the Regie Tour. Your doyenne and faithful sidekick Dawn Fatale (also pictured) will be hitting the continent later this week for a taste of productions done in the German style. Any European members […]
“The first rule of gambling is: You win some, you lose some. Still, it’s heartbreaking that on Friday at the Met, an opera about a compulsive gambler, The Queen of Spades, barely broke even.” Our own JJ (not pictured) knows when to fold them in the New York Post. (Photo: Marty Sohl / Metropolitan Opera)
La Cieca (not pictured) invites the cher public to gather around for a chat tonight during the Met’s season premiere of Pikovaya dama, beginning at 8:00 pm.
Some interesting turns of phrase in the Met press office’s announcement that Valery Gergiev will not (shockeroo!) show up tomorrow to conduct a single performance of Boris Godunov:
Which recently disgraced genius is tingling with excitement at an offer to help a fellow artist achieve redemption?
Pencils down! We have a solution; please see below.
UPDATE: La Cieca now has audio evidence of Micaela Carosi‘s dress rehearsal of Aïda. PREVIOUSLY: La Cieca has heard of sweeping changes of cast in important Verdi revivals across the pond: Elisabete Matos has suddenly been dropped from Rome Opera’s Riccardo Muti-helmed Nabucco, with Csilla Boross jumping in as Abigaille.
La Cieca was just sent an announcement about “James Levine: 40 Years at The Metropolitan Opera, an extraordinary insider’s view of the legendary conductor’s Met career, illustrated with vivid historic photographs…. Marking the 40th anniversary of Met Music Director James Levine’s company debut on June 5, 1971, the book celebrates his unparalleled artistic achievements through […]
Three Juliettes, three different seasons of the Met’s Roméo et Juliette: Natalie Dessay in 2005, Anna Netrebko in 2007, Hei-Kyung Hong in 2011. At this rate, La Cieca predicts that the role will be performed in the nude sometime around 2025. (Photos: Dessay and Hong by Marty Sohl, Netrebko by Ken Howard.)
Usually the idea of the Regie quiz is: you know the music, but the visuals are unfamiliar. Now let’s try it a different way.
UPDATE: “Alan Held will sing the title role in the revival of Wozzeck for all performances this season, replacing Matthias Goerne, who will undergo knee surgery in April,” says the Met press office. EARLER: La Cieca has been alerted that “wir arme Publikum” should be ready for a major cancellation/casting change announcement from the Met […]
“The first installment of Crain’s Business of Arts & Culture series will explore how competition for strong and deep-pocketed trustees has never been steeper as more potential board members are choosing to support fewer organizations. We will also look at how to find new board members, keep them, and use their expertise to help grow […]
Our own JJ reflects on a pair of French operas, Roméo et Juliette and L’africaine, neither of which you could exactly call “grand.” [New York Post]
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