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.
Those of you who who worry that the New York City Opera gets less than favorable coverage in the New York Times may now cease and desist your fretting. Gérard Mortier hasn’t even come yet, but Tony Tommasini is already licking his lips at the prospect of all that “brilliant, unabashedly provocative” Belgian goodness: As someone who has […]
… to describe this video which, frankly, makes Wenarto‘s oeuvre look like Dirty Harry. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/MCaLDvdsKSs” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
The first two days of polling, 555 of you voted for your choice for the theme of this summer’s Unnatural Acts of Opera Festival. The result: a dead heat at 28% each between the two leading contenders Now comes the runoff, with you, cher public, making the final choice. The polls close Thursday at noon, […]
Verdi’s La Traviata opens the season and will run July 18 through August 25. Arguably Verdi’s most popular work, it returns to the Glimmerglass Opera stage after 20 years in a new production directed by Jonathan Miller Yes, that’s right, the oft-retired Dr. Miller has been dragged kicking and screaming into the opera arena yet […]
As our dear Krunoslav hinted so wittily, our previous Regiequiz depicted a production of Die Bassariden. La Cieca reminds all her cher public that, as always with these little quizzes, please do not blurt out the answer if you actually have seen (or otherwise recognize) the production. The point of the game is to guess […]
Hunks in skimpy loincloths have long been a feature of productions of twentieth century opera, especially during the Christopher Keene era at New York City Opera. But you don’t often get to see much homoerotic action in bel canto works like Norma, more’s the pity. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/sFdrWy8TzSQ” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] [via Barihunks]
As everyone knows, practically nobody reads the Saturday edition of the New York Times even during the winter, much less on the first weekend of the summer when everyone who might be interested in giving money to an opera company is on their way to the Hamptons. So it comes as no surprise that it […]
Prince of Puppyliciousness Juan Diego Flórez goes classic this afternoon for Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice broadcast live from Madrid at 2:00 PM EDT. Soprano Nicole Cabell is Eurydice and Jesus López Cobos conducts. To hear the broadcast, open the Radio Nacional de España player.
Not Tosca, of course, cher public — La Cieca could never say that about her dear, dear Tosca. But it does seem both shabby and shocking that the combined forces of The New York Philharmonic and Charles Zachary Bornstein, the Philharmonic’s Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence would not at the very least ask for a retake of […]
Member of the cher public Max writes: Don’t know if you’ve gotten reports on this yet, but Jonas Kaufmann‘s Cavaradossi at the Royal Opera (May 23) was singing like I haven’t heard since young Domingo (only Domingo never had that kind of ease on top). You could feel the waves of sound from his “Vittoria” […]
The opera will be called Le convenienze ed incovenienze terrestriali. The first act aria will begin “Your tiny globe is frozen; let me warm it with my own.” More jokes to follow — cher public, don’t be shy.
In news that La Cieca is pretty sure has fallen far below Jeffrey Vanderveen‘s radar screen, a further casting rumor for next season’s Rienzi at Opera Orchestra of New York has emerged. As if Lauren Flanigan (Irene) were not superstar enough to supply name recognition for the company’s 47th production of the Wagner opus, the […]
Legendary, lovely Evelyn Lear is a lady who knows what she wants. La Cieca hears that for a recent master class engagement, the veteran diva had only a few simple requirements: “Cups and water, and the water should not be iced; a mirror; and a box of Kleenex for when I make the students cry.” […]
As La Cieca first reported back in March, Jeffrey Vanderveen, recently split from IMG, will now head up Universal Music Classical Artists Management and Productions, a division “meant to provide management services for and produce live events for prominent classical musicians.” IMG has responded by filing filed suit against Vanderveen and other Universal honchos, claiming […]
La Cieca has to say that the funniest health code violation story she’s read in, well, days and days is the AP item entitled “NYC Health Department: Mice at Met Opera.” The hilarity begins in the very lede of the piece, which reads On-stage villains aren’t the only vermin at the Metropolitan Opera. Just as […]
No video for this event (yet) but here are the ladies of The View — Sherri Shepherd, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Whoopi Goldberg — in competition to decide which of them has the greatest ignorance of opera. (Today was one of Barbara Walters‘ frequent days off, which is a pity because she is at […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/mq0mrk9c15w” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] [From the YouTube page of Regi184.]
Here’s another (and very different) crop of that production photo of Cecilia Bartoli. You provide the caption. La Cieca will get you started: “L’amore di Fay Wray.”
La Cieca has just heard the fascinating report that Cecilia Bartoli is to star in the musical biopic The Maria Guleghina Story, playing “Young Maria.” In related news, Maria Guleghina has accepted a featured role in The Cecilia Bartoli Story as “Herself” in a sequence based on the making of the musical biopic The Maria […]
Not a single comment about this week’s podcast? Was La Cieca’s little attempt at humor really so feeble as all that? Or has the cher public tired of Montserrat Caballé‘s Donizetti?
Soprano Elizabeth Futral and tenor Stephen Costello bring a cougarific vibe to Fort Worth Opera Festival‘s Lucia di Lammermoor May 25 through June 7. The Donizetti work is in repertory with Turandot and Angels in America, so it sounds like Memorial Day Weekend in Fort Worth is about the gayest time to be had in […]
Yes, you’re all right. The opera in the last quiz was in fact Roméo et Juliette, featuring hunkentenor Leonardo Capalbo in the tighty whities. Speaking of which, whatever might this opera be?
… a dream that is not about a cow, or even about you, baby. But that’s about all it doesn’t involve. Eventually La Cieca gets around to introducing the final act of Lucrezia Borgia and some other stuff. Lucrezia Borgia, Act 2
La Cieca would not venture to say which of the many selections on the Jessye Norman – A Portrait DVD is the funniest. But this one is certainly right up there. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/8noeFpdfWcQ” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Also, though it’s been said before, it bears repeating:
Exclusive opera reviews, commentary, and top reads
delivered to your email weekly…ish.
