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.
“There’s a lot of Bernstein in many of the characters. [In François] there’s that fantasy of bisexuality or a gay man suddenly turning straight.” [Time Out New York]
“Saturday night’s Met debut of Vittorio Grigolo in La Boheme was promising enough to suggest the tenor may one day live up to his own hype.” [New York Post]
“As the flirtatious Musetta, American soprano Takesha Meshe Kizart won the audience’s hearts with the charm and flair of her personality and a potent upper register, including some formidable high C’s for her Waltz Song.” [AP]
As we count down the weeks until the first live Met Saturday afternoon broadcast of the season, subjects for chat continue in rich array.
“I saw the dress rehearsal of the Covent Garden Manon, and Vittorio had that metaphysical connection with the audience. I’m convinced of his potential.” [New York Times]
One of the buildings at Lincoln Center has become infested by a disgusting, blood-sucking parasite. And besides that, the David H. Koch Theater now has bedbugs. [AP] UPDATE: And now, like Beverly Sills and Sam Ramey, the bedbugs have “graduated” to the theater across the plaza. [Wall Street Journal]
You know La Cieca adores her some Gheorghiu, but the “scheduled” (not to mention the Soprano Math) just cries out for mockery.
“At the close of Boris Godunov, a leaderless Russia churns in chaos. Happily, the Met’s new production of Mussorgsky’s masterpiece — despite a last-minute turnover on the production team — ended triumphantly.” [New York Post]
At the risk of “pulling a Kathy Lee,” here’s a preliminary to tonight’s Met performance of Les Contes d’Hoffmann dedicated to Dame Joan Sutherland.
One of La Cieca’s favoritest bloggers in the whole wide world, Opera Cake, takes on the task of reviewing and explicating the “tough” Calixto Bieito production of Aïda, now running in Basel. And another scribe rapidly moving up in the ranks, Likely Impossibilities, takes a different but equally valid approach.
Our Own JJ remembers Dame Joan Sutherland in the New York Post and for WQXR. We can also report that tonight’s Met performance of Les Contes d’Hoffmann will be dedicated to Dame Joan, and on Sunday, the company’s Sirius channel will feature a playlist of historical Sutherland performances, including Lucia di Lammermoor, La sonnambula, Norma,…
The Australian soprano, called “The Voice of the Century,” died yesterday. She was 83. [Sydney Morning Herald]
Ever-vigilant Quanto Painy Fakor needed hardly more than a glance at last time’s Regie quiz to deduce the identity of the work: L’incoronazione di Poppea. Others of you quickly followed suit with the details of the company (Ópera de Oviedo) and director (Emilio Sagi). And now, Anna Bolena, right?
La Cieca is delighted to inform the cher public (pictured) that Betsy has managed in the very nick of time to aggregate a list of listening (and chatting) possibilities for this afternoon.
Even as La Cieca tippy-taps these words, the 30-hour Boston–New York–Boston marathon has begun for the maestro about whom the following was written less than two weeks ago: Still, the state of Mr. Levine’s health and music making were major concerns going into this evening. When he took his bow during the curtain calls he…
“The director of Anna Bolena is looking for two (2) well-defined muscular men of impressive size to be two stags with antlers wrestling onstage shirtless and barefoot.” [Art&Seek]
Congratulations to Nicola Lischi, of the younger generation of critics the one with the best developed… knowledge of Italian opera, for his first review on Opera Brittania.
Says the Met press office: “Alfred Kim will make his Met debut as Manrico in three fall performances of Il Trovatore, replacing Marcelo Álvarez, who has withdrawn from the November 11, 15, and 19 performances for personal reasons.”
Kirill Petrenko will be the new General Music Director of the Bayerische Staatsoper, succeeding Kent Nagano on September 1, 2013 for a five-year contract. [Bayerische Staatsoper]
“Das neue Traumpaar” offer a duet from a their recent joint role debuts.
Which American opera company is about to break apart and make a brand new start in the form of a last-minute substitution in a prima donna title role?
There have been about 2,000 reviews of the Met’s new Rheingold so far, but for now, anyway, this one is my favorite—and not only for “Sid and Marty“.
La Cieca (third from right) has always prided herself on offering opportunities to the young, even if they aren’t always quick to pick up on her hints, and today is no exception. Your doyenne has several unusual (one might even say offbeat) opera events on the calendar, and she’d be interested in sending novice parterre…
“In the Met’s Tales of Hoffmann, Giuseppe Filianoti plays a poet defeated by life. In reality, the 36-year-old singer’s brush with tragedy had a far happier ending.” The tenor talks to Our Own JJ in the New York Post.
Tell us: What’s your favorite Verdi performance?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
