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.
Though semi ramide got there first, kudos as well to Indiana Loiterer III for pinpointing the exact scenes of Rusalka depicted in this Barrie Kosky production for the Komische Oper Berlin—a staging, by the way, that your own doyenne will witness a couple of weeks from now during her Regietournee. After the jump, video of…
La Cieca (pictured, left) invites all the single cher public to join in circa 1:00 pm for a discussion of this afternoon’s absolutely last and final performance of Armida. Ever.
“Renee Fleming and Timothy Jessell arrive for the formal artist’s dinner for the Kennedy Center Honors at the United States Department of State December 4, 2010 in Washington, D.C.” More (circumstantial) proof after the jump.
Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard has been named the recipient of the sixth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. She receives a $50,000 prize and is married to Teddy Tahu Rhodes, which frankly strikes La Cieca as overkill. (Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera)
Which diva—whose recordings, though popular, are sometimes obscure—anticipates becoming a bride as well as a mother? The lady’s beau, we’re told, is a tax attorney in our nation’s capital.
“Margaret, what is it Big Daddy always says when he’s disgusted?” asks the immortal Big Momma in dear Tennessee Williams‘ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which Maggie answers, “He says bull when he’s disgusted.” Well, your own Big Momma (i.e., La Cieca has been speaking to a Met insider (pictured) about certain recent headline-grabbing…
La Cieca, who is beginning to feel just the tiniest bit like dear Julian Assange, has been leaked upon yet again. This time she’s been forwarded a message that Peter Gelb sent to the minions of the Met late yesterday afternoon. Naturally your doyenne was certain you, the cher public, would want to read it.
UPDATE: It’s official. EARLIER: La Cieca hears from a generally reliable source that James Levine has resigned from his post as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Expect an official announcement later today.
UPDATE: This just in from the Met press office: “Hei-Kyung Hong will sing the role of Juliette in Roméo et Juliette for performances from March 3 through March 22 this season, replacing Angela Gheorghiu, who is ill. The role of Juliette for the Saturday, March 26 performance is TBA.” EARLIER: Angela Gheorghiu has just announced…
“It’s just that it seems rather perverse to have cast such opulent voices and then given them not much to sing…. the role of Anna Nicole would not stretch Danielle de Niese.” Loyal parterrian Jondrytay (not pictured) looked in on the Royal Opera’s Anna Nicole and shared this thoughts on his blog Not So Wunderbar.
The definitive evidence that the Met was far too wildly optimistic when scheduling Armida.
James Levine has just canceled his remaining engagements for the season with the Boston Symphony, including a tour to Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. The canceled dates run through March 19; Levine’s next performance at the Met is scheduled for March 30. [WBUR]
Which divo—who’s not known for a sizable instrument—has suddenly sported a massive bulge that has onlookers wondering “are you padding your part, or are you just glad to be back at the Met?”
La Cieca realized suddenly yesterday she had two contests to get up to date, so she organized her crack panel of experts (or is that “her panel of crack experts?”) to adjudicate, decide, confer, converse and otherwise hobnob with our brother wizards. The upshot of which is: we have two winners!
The team that made the Met’s 2009 production of From the House of the Dead one of the undisputed highlights of the Peter Gelb era will return five years from now to create a Richard Strauss tragedy. According to Helsingin Sanomat, director Patrice Chéreau and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will collaborate on a new production of…
Which diva is poised on the brink of omitting a whole aria after already transposing another? Or are we living in a dream to think she’ll show up at all?
Our own JJ “sits down” (figuratively speaking) with Robert Lepage to “talk” (also figuratively speaking) about his production of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, opening tomorrow night at BAM. [New York Post]
This week it was operalover9001 (so many of you!) who managed to narrow down the repertoire to a handful of titles, of which The Rape of Lucretia turned out to be accurate. After all, how many operas are there that feature Nathan Gunn taking a massage in leather pants? (I said how many are there,…
The cher public’s final chat for the month of February concerns Iphigénie en Tauride, as heard beginning at 1:00 pm.
Maestro James Levine continued his (unfortunate, and surely painful) recent pattern of canceling an average of one performance a week last night when he dropped out of the Boston’s Symphony’s performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony.
La Cieca thought she could omit birthday greetings for la Scotto this year since there was a big mention of the diva earlier this week, but the emails, IMs and, for all La Cieca knows, telegrams have been pouring in all day demanding a salute. And far be it from La Cieca to refuse the…
Since you so adroitly identified the voice of the mystery Leonora as Anja Harteros, La Cieca thought you might like to hear the soprano in the complete Act 4, Scene 1 of Il trovatore.
As if wowing a capacity crowd at his Met debut recital were not enough, protean performer Andrea Bocelli has branched out into an entirely new field as a wardrobe stylist. He’s pictured here with satisfied clients Angela Gheorghiu and Renée Fleming.
“With a career spanning half a century, Placido Domingo continues to be firmly against leaving the stage, where presently he is triumphing in his role as Oreste in the production of Iphigenie en Tauride that is being performed at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.” [Fox News]
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
