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.
Starring Andrey Popov, Alexander Lewis, and Paulo Szot, conducted by Pavel Smelkov. Production by William Kentridge. From October 26, 2013.
A Baroque Valentine’s with Opera Lafayette | Feb | DC & NYC
Celebrate love in all its guises with tender ballads, amorous duets, cheeky verses, and bawdy drinking songs plus food, cocktails and wine.
Recorded in March 2021. New production of the Opéra de Lille.
Starring Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil, conducted by James Levine. Production by Piero Faggioni. From April 7, 1984.
The Metropolitan Opera announces two further concerts in the Met Stars Live in Concert series.
Born on this day in 1912 actress and Olympian Sonja Henie.
Starring Anna Netrebko, Elena Maximova, Alexey Dolgov, Peter Mattei, and Stefan Kocan, conducted by Robin Ticciati. Production by Deborah Warner. From April 22, 2017.
Our Own Henson Keys will make his opera debut in the role of Wotan in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Twilight: Gods, directed by Yuval Sharon and starring Christine Goerke.
Peter Schneider conducts Klaus Florian Vogt, Anja Kampe, Evgeny Nikitin and Stephen Milling.
Streaming and discussion begin at 7:30 PM. Photo: Met Archives
Starring Marina Poplavskaya, Jonas Kaufmann, and René Pape, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Production by Des McAnuff. From December 10, 2011.
Starring Nina Stemme, Ekaterina Gubanova, Stuart Skelton, Evgeny Nikitin, and René Pape, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Production by Mariusz Trelinski. From October 8, 2016.
Without attempting to rival The New York Times’ enormous celebratory package, your doyenne lauds the golden anniversary of the Broadway opening night of the seminal musical Follies with a selection of parterre box and parterre box-adjacent pieces devoted to this gorgeous monster of a show.
Born on this day in 1932 actor Anthony Perkins.
Starring Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecien and Ambrogio Maestri, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Bartlett Sher. From October 13, 2012.
Performance from February 8, 2014: Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Renée Fleming (Rusalka), Emily Magee (Foreign Princess), Dolora Zajick (Jezibaba), Piotr Beczala (Prince), John Relyea (Water Gnome).
Starring Lisette Oropesa, Sophie Koch, Jonas Kaufmann, and David Bizic, conducted by Alain Altinoglu. Production by Sir Richard Eyre. From March 15, 2013.
Daniel Barenboim conducts Andreas Schager, Matthias Hölle, René Pape, Wolfgang Koch and Anja Kampe. Directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Recorded at Berlin State Opera, Unter den Linden.
Starring Eva Marton, Dolora Zajick, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, and Jeffrey Wells, conducted by James Levine. Production by Fabrizio Melano. From October 15, 1988.
A new production streamed from the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, directed by Vincent Huguet and conducted by Daniel Barenboim.
Starring Sondra Radvanovsky, Elina Garanca, Matthew Polenzani, and Mariusz Kwiecien, conducted by Maurizio Benini. Production by Sir David McVicar. From April 16, 2016.
Lea Desandre and Jakub Józef Orlinski sing Jean-Philippe Rameau, Giulio Caccini, Henry Purcell, Georg Friedrich Haendel, Thomas Dunford, Reynaldo Hahn, Cole Porter and more.
Starring Renée Fleming, Sarah Connolly, Joseph Kaiser, Russell Braun, Morten Frank Larsen, and Peter Rose, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Production by John Cox. From April 23, 2011.
From 1994, the legendary Jessye Norman portrays an evening of operatic heroines, with pioneering conductor Dame Jane Glover and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Starring Anja Kampe, Mihoko Fujimura, Sergey Skorokhodov, David Portillo, Evgeny Nikitin, and Franz-Josef Selig, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Production by François Girard. From March 10, 2020.
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.
