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.
First the bad news, or anyway the bad news for us New Yorkers. Why the hell should Seattle Opera get Mariusz Kwiecien in Puritani, whereas we get — whatever his name was? Now the good news, though Seattle may think otherwise: Nick Scholl is moving to New York! (The photo’s a detail of an image […]
Conductor Franz Welser-Moest (not pictured) has backed out of two performances of Die Fledermaus at the Zurich Opera, complaining that he was “unhappy” with the staging by Michael Sturminger. One innovation in this production is the inclusion of several vampires among Orlovsky’s retinue, which of course means that good old Frosch has lots of funny […]
The Royal Opera House (you know, that place with the naked buskecutioner) is looking for “budding” filmmakers to produce a 40 second long version of Romeo and Juliet. The company asks for the finished featurettes to be uploaded to the Royal Opera’s YouTube site, which is just so Web 2.0 La Cieca can hardly stand […]
Obviously the snippet of Birgit Nilsson‘s singing in the Curse Quiz does not represent the great dramatic soprano at her considerable best, since it’s taken from a post-retirement gala performance. Here’s Nilsson’s Isolde at her peak in one of La Cieca’s very favorite YouTube clips, from a 1967 telecast. (It’s been posted here before, but […]
La Cieca presents, in traditional YouTube format, the shocking solution to the Mystery of Isolde’s Curse. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/3StsbgcqbUE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Congratulations to Christian Ocier who recognized all 14 voices almost immediately and so is the winner of the amazon.com gift card. And thanks to all of you, cher public, for playing!
No fooling the cher public this time around: most of you guessed easily that the depicted production was Die Zauberflöte, as staged in the Bundestag subway station in Berlin. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/Lf2RNksObiw” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
I thought that it would be fun to tell you about a little concert last Sunday here in Montréal, with Renée Fleming, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato and Matthew Polenzani. It was actually the first time that I have heard any of them in the flesh, so I was most curious to see if the voices […]
The American Opera Theater makes its New York debut this weekend at BAM with Charpentier’s remarkable 1688 opera David et Jonathas, featuring the Ignoti Dei period orchestra conducted by Timothy Nelson and joined by the Chamber Singers of Virginia Tech. Per the America Opera Theater’s press release, “David et Jonathas explores the relationship between three […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/VX27o382fYs” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Has it really been nearly two months since our last “serious” vocal identification quiz? (By “serious,” La Cieca means of course not only for glory but for the coveted amazon.com gift card!) So, while we still have our most recent podcast of Tristan und Isolde on the brain, you clever public can try your skill […]
Cher public, you are simply getting too clever for this poor old simple-minded doyenne. With only two photos to guide you, so many of you deduced that the opera was Wagner’s Siegfried, in the new production by Sven-Eric Bechtolf for Vienna. And so, our next quiz will be limited to only one photo. Should you […]
After Natalie Dessay‘s second act aria in La Fille du Régiment, the Metropolitan Opera audience just didn’t want to stop applauding — that’s how much fun they were having. Finally the soprano had to shush them so this new production of the Donizetti comic opera (heard April 21) could rollick to its triumphant conclusion. Our […]
The Bonynge and Sutherland of YouTube, Wenarto and Izzy Anderson, return with a more elaborately produced version of what is rapidly becoming Izzy’s signature tune, “Nessun dorma!”
Oh, yes, La Cieca agrees that an opera based on the life and career of Hillary Rodham Clinton sounds like a great idea. But is this really a role for David Daniels?
Actually this next sound clip dates back over a decade but has recently re-emerged (like the Creature From The Black Lagoon, actually) on such sites as Dial “M” for Musicology, Boing Boing and Wired. It’s a project by conceptual artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid based on an online poll of people’s likes and dislikes […]
La Cieca would like to remind her cher public that parterre.com stays afloat thanks to your generosity when shopping at amazon.com) and making donations through PayPal. Won’t you take a moment to click on the “donate” button so La Cieca may continue her good work? That gossip isn’t going to repeat itself!
La Cieca’s spy at least night’s performance of La Fille du Régiment assures her that, yes, indeed, Juan Diego Florèz did take a “bis” of his first act cabaletta. “Tonight the ovation was far longer and louder than before (perhaps for fear of getting short-shrift as the old folks on Saturday did), and the encore […]
At very long last, the final act of Tristan und Isolde. Act Three Tristan – Spas Wenkoff, Isolde – Catarina Ligendza, Brangaene – Yvonne Minton, Marke – Karl Ridderbusch, Kurwenal – Donald McIntyre, Melot – Heribert Steinbach, Steuermann – Heinz Feldhoff, Hirte – Heinz Zednik. Carlos Kleiber; Bayreuther Festspiele, 30 July 1976.
Here’s bel canto goddess Mariella Devia in fiery form for the final cabaletta from Anna Bolena earlier this month in Palermo. (Just ignore the annoying interpolated interviste.) [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/rT5cpY2qJ2c” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
. . . much to our dismay, we caught a glimpse of high-C-flaunting Juan Diego Florez coming out of the Juilliard School’s Meredith Wilson Residence Hall with fiance Julia Trappe in tow at around, oh, 1pm. That’s like 30 minutes before curtain! Little sister Counter Critic goes to the movies and gets a surprise preview. […]
Reader/brainiac Orion Montoya has invented a gizmo that may help simplify the annual puzzlement over which of the Met’s myriad subscription series is right for you (if any). Before you purchase your tickets for next season, take a look at the Met Opera Subscription Helper.
Recital in Tokyo, November 2007. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/kGgFU8_bpLM” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
According to a review by Vivien Schweitzer in this morning’s NYT, the staid old Metropolitan Opera introduced a rather startling new plot element into their current revival of Entführung aus dem Serail:
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