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.


“Sony Pictures studio unveiled plans Wednesday for a new digital cinema unit to bring filmed presentations of Broadway shows, rock concerts and sports events to specially equipped movie theaters nationwide.” [USA Today] “The Met’s transmissions of eight live performances to movie theaters reached 908,000 people, more than the total number who attended performances at the…

on May 22, 2008 at 3:27 PM

La Cieca is being hassled mightily at her day job at Widdecomb, Gutterman, Applewhite, Bibberman and Black today, so she’s not able to post her review of Nicholas Limansky‘s lovely new biography of a certain stratospheric singer. The review should appear in the next day or so, but, in the meantime, cher public, please entertain…

on May 22, 2008 at 2:17 PM

La Cieca is thrilled to note that VAI have continued their series of releases from the NHK Lirica Italiana telecasts of the 1960s and 1970s. These DVDs, remastered from original broadcasts on Japanese television, preserve performances by some of the greatest Italian artists of the mid-20th century. The most recent treasure to be unearthed is…

on May 21, 2008 at 11:46 AM

Readers of this morning’s New York Times were privileged to be present at what might be called “the birth an an idée fixe” — that is, Tony Tommasini‘s new obsession. Oddly enough, this new object of TT’s unremitting fascination isn’t something in pants, or, for that matter, something that just wriggled out of its pants. Let’s…

on May 21, 2008 at 10:56 AM

Congratulations to Vanderdecken, was first to identify all eight singers correctly in Sanford‘s quiz. Our wandering Dutchman will have an amazon.com gift card to help him pass his next seven years at sea. So who, you ask, were our eight lovelies? Watch and learn! [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9yOB_kFHJQ0″ width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

on May 20, 2008 at 8:14 AM

La Cieca has just noticed that Decca is about to release a 33-disc collection comprising all the standard Wagner works. (You’ll have to look elsewhere for Das Liebesverbot.) The amazing news here is that this complete traversal of the standard Wagnerian canon is on sale for only $66.99 — yes, that’s right, barely two dollars…

on May 19, 2008 at 9:40 PM

La Cieca’s old, old, old friend Sanford writes: 

on May 19, 2008 at 12:56 AM

Fiorenza Cossotto. Tichina Vaughn. Irina Arkhipova. Viorica Cortez. Elena Cernei. Big voices. Bigger hair.

on May 18, 2008 at 4:41 PM

As several of you informed La Cieca (some in no uncertain terms) our most recent Regiequiz was a bit dodgy — the opera represented was hardly a standard repertory work, and the stage direction was fairly straightforward. Richard “Wallpaper” Jones directed this production of Gerald Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a Bremen…

on May 18, 2008 at 3:46 PM

Well, in fact your doyenne just warbles a few bars of a dear old Jerry Herman tune, but the real news is the second part of Montserrat Caballé‘s legendary New York debut as Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezia Borgia Act 1

on May 18, 2008 at 3:01 AM

Interview with Leyla Gencer in 2007. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/5q4je2G7YpE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

on May 17, 2008 at 12:31 AM

Music video producer extraordinaire Wenarto is currently trying to get his invaluable collection of performances reinstated on YouTube following a terms of service contretemps. Pending when, as, and if the original site goes online again, Wenarto has created a new YouTube account highlighting his classical, operatic-themed and Izzycentric vids: 222Opera.  Visit soon, cher public, and often!

on May 15, 2008 at 2:50 PM

Rupert Christiansen writes a review that might be a rave, or, then again . . . In the small role of the minister Arbace, a confident young British tenor currently based in Hamburg suggested that he is ready to give Bostridge a run for his money: Benjamin Hulett, clearly a name to watch out for.

on May 15, 2008 at 2:32 PM

Sometimes one can recognize a great artist in only one word of operatic text. This, however, is not one of those times. Context is provided after the jump.

on May 14, 2008 at 9:35 PM

From an email promo for Washington National Opera’s current production of Elektra: See Susan Bullock and Christine Goerke Sing Elektra! Washington National Opera stars Susan Bullock and Christine Goerke are featured in these extended excerpts and interviews from a recent production of Strauss’ Elektra in Florence, Italy, directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by Seiji…

on May 13, 2008 at 11:30 PM

La Cieca’s cher public — and music lovers around the world — won’t have Bernard Holland to kick around any more.  The veteran classical music reviewer is leaving the New York TImes after 27 years, though to us who read him regularly it has easily seemed twice that.  Holland is one of about 85 NYT newsroom…

on May 13, 2008 at 11:53 AM

[This article originally appeared in the print zine precursor to this site, one of a series of surveys of live recordings by critic Leila de Lakmé.] Leyla Gencer. The very name is exotic. She was an artist of Turkish ancestry who, during the 1950s and 60s, held her own despite the presence of Maria Callas,…

on May 12, 2008 at 12:13 PM

Another “Name that Regie” quiz for you, cher public.  Remember, if you have seen this production (or know the photos), don’t blurt out the answer — let others deduce it!

on May 11, 2008 at 12:16 PM

“La Diva Turca” died this morning in Milan. In tribute to the art of Leyla Gencer, here is the soprano in the final scenes of Bellini’s Norma at La Scala on January 13, 1965. She is joined in this performance by Bruno Prevedi (Pollione) and Nicola Zaccaria (Oroveso); Gianandrea Gavazzeni is the conductor. UPDATE: The…

on May 10, 2008 at 12:35 PM

Thanks to High C’s for this excellent topic suggestion.

on May 09, 2008 at 5:41 PM

La Cieca thanks cher Charles for sending this “funniest, most withering description of singers ever written” from James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce.

on May 09, 2008 at 3:41 PM

La Cieca offers her own personal salute to a very special holiday with an edition of Unnatural Acts of Opera featuring Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. In this legendary April 20, 1965 performance, the eponymous antiheroine is Montserrat Caballé. Lucrezia Borgia (Prologue)

on May 08, 2008 at 11:11 PM

“Houston Grand Opera has appointed Laura Canning to run its young-artist training program, Houston Grand Opera Studio, effective Aug. 1. She follows General Director and CEO Anthony Freud from the Welsh National Opera, where she has been artistic administrator for the last ten years.” [via musicalamerica.com] 

on May 08, 2008 at 11:51 AM

A very young Anna Moffo sings La sonnambula. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/XuC25v_tzOA” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

on May 07, 2008 at 9:26 PM
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