La Cieca

James Jorden (who writes under the names "La Cieca" and "Our Own JJ") is the founder and editor of parterre box. During his 20 year career as an opera critic he has written for the New York Times, Opera, Gay City News, Opera Now, Musical America and the New York Post. He has also raised his voice in punditry on National Public Radio. From time to time he has directed opera, including three unsuccessful productions of Don Giovanni, a work he hopes to return to someday. Currently he alternates his doyenne duties with writing a weekly column on opera for the New York Observer.


Okay, La Cieca has sifted all the evidence thus far, and she has done Pravda-style scrutiny of what was said and what was left unsaid (particularly by Peter Gelb) in the most recent New York Times analysis of the issue, and ignoring the most recent Jeremiads from Rome on account of the fact that pretty…

on December 29, 2009 at 1:41 PM

That invited audience for last night’s dress rehearsal of Carmen at the Met must still be under house arrest, for nary a peep has reached the ear of your doyenne. On the bright side, there was a snippet of video smuggled out of a rehearsal of the upcoming Attila, and La Cieca is happy to…

on December 29, 2009 at 10:45 AM

La Cieca’s first resolution for the New Year: to get herself a high C like the one Amarilli Nizza throws around with such aplomb and insouciance and such.

on December 28, 2009 at 12:01 PM

La Cieca would be fascinated to find out how you did it, Hoffmann. However did you guess that last week’s Regie quiz in fact portrayed Rusalka — as envisioned by that new parterre darling Stefan Herheim for Oper Graz! 

on December 27, 2009 at 12:19 AM

Don’t say that!  No one is alone for the weekly chat during the Saturday Met broadcast! Today the performance is Elektra, starting at 1:00 pm.

on December 26, 2009 at 12:30 PM

“I will have more to say on this question later.” So, three weeks ago, Anthony Tommasini left open the subject of how “[n]one of the versions of [Les Contes d’Hoffmann] that have appeared over the years, some of them corrupted, can be said to be authentic.” The Times scribe has at last broken his silence, though…

on December 25, 2009 at 5:25 PM

“A Zeffirelli, dopo le polemiche della vigilia che lo hanno opposto al soprano Daniela Dessì, da lui ritenuta non giusta per il ruolo di Violetta in questa Traviata, qualche dissenso misto agli applausi al momento di comparire in proscenio assieme a Gelmetti.” [Il Messaggero]

on December 25, 2009 at 10:52 AM

So La Cieca was thinking back, what with the end of the oughts and all, and she found herself wondering how parterre.com has changed in the past ten years. Here’s a screenshot of the site (not yet a blog) circa December 1999, and what nostalgia to think of the days when we still used “frames!”…

on December 24, 2009 at 11:50 PM

Tonight’s Hoffmann at the Met is conducted by John Keenan, but it’s not a(nother) James Levine cancellation. Of the nine performances of the Offenbach opera this season, Maestro Jimmy was always scheduled to do only six; the other were “TBA” until the season began. With his cancellation of of the December 16 performance, of course,…

on December 23, 2009 at 11:35 PM

La Cieca reminds the cher public: you still have one week to come up with a top ten list about the decade from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2009, with the winner taking home a $100 Amazon gift card.

on December 23, 2009 at 10:20 PM

“Three cast changes have been made for tonight’s performance of Les Contes d’Hoffmann due to illness. Rachele Gilmore will make her Met debut replacing Kathleen Kim in the role of Olympia. Laura Vlasek Nolan replaces Ekaterina Gubanova as Giulietta. Joel Sorensen sings the roles of the four servants – Andrès, Frantz, Cochenille, and Pitichinaccio –…

on December 23, 2009 at 6:51 PM

Call this Prima Donna: The Opera: The Documentary: The Trailer. Plus it includes a glimpse of tween Rufus playing Scarpia. 

on December 22, 2009 at 11:43 PM

The poet of “le piccole cose” was born 151 years ago today.

on December 22, 2009 at 1:41 PM

Soprano Renée Fleming, target of a jibe or three on this site over the years, shows what finer stuff she’s made of on January 11 when she gives a recital for the benefit of Treatment Action Group in the intimate setting of a SoHo loft, recently dubbed “Carnegie Hall South” in the New York Times.

on December 22, 2009 at 10:58 AM

Wow! That Daniel J. Wakin story appearing in tomorrow’s Times has everything but the bloodhounds snappin’ at Luc Bondy‘s rear end!

on December 21, 2009 at 11:43 PM

It’s always time for Stravinsky! [Ebay]

on December 21, 2009 at 11:40 PM

Several of you guessed correctly that our most recent Regie quiz was La fanciulla del West, in the “leather bar” production by Nikolaus Lehnhoff for De Nederlandse Opera.   After the jump, a look at more of this production in action.

on December 21, 2009 at 4:06 PM

A source close to (though not necessarily at) the Metropolitan Opera tells La Cieca that the company’s production staff “late last week” pitched the idea of reviving the Franco Zeffirelli production of Tosca in the fall of 2010 in order to free up some backstage space for the “QEII-sized” sets for the new Rheingold. Peter’s…

on December 21, 2009 at 3:13 PM

So the question was raised (on opera-l, actually, but La Cieca doesn’t mind discussing it in more downmarket venues): in Luc Bondy‘s production of Tosca, Karita Mattila appears in the third act in an entirely new outfit, a sort of tailored trenchcoat of dark leather-like fabric, but whatever she’s wearing, isn’t is a mistake?

on December 20, 2009 at 11:34 PM

Here’s a rare glimpse of those bad old days at the (then) New York State Theater, before tens of millions of dollars were spent installing a sound enhancement system, ripping a sound enhancement system, and finally doing an acoustic overhaul. Note how distant and “small” the voices sounded back in 1976.

on December 20, 2009 at 12:54 AM

Here’s the place to stay warm and to discuss this afternoon’s broadcast of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, starting at 1:00 pm.

on December 19, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Last-minute holiday shopping needn’t be a bother if you’ll remember to drop by La Cieca’s Little Shop of Arias.

on December 19, 2009 at 11:59 AM

La Cieca (not pictured) expects to see you all online tomorrow (Saturday) beginning at 12:45 pm for a chat on the subject of the Met’s broadcast of Les Contes d’Hoffmann. And those of you who feel in a musico-satirico-politico-holiday mood Monday evening will surely want to drop by Cafe Iguana for the premiere of chanteuse/FOJJ Dorothy…

on December 18, 2009 at 12:07 PM

James Levine was too ill Wednesday night to conduct Les Contes d’Hoffmann, sending on John Keenan in his place.  That same night PBS telecast a performance of Tosca taped earlier this fall which Joseph Colaneri had to take over for the injured Levine.

on December 18, 2009 at 8:32 AM
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