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.


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…

on May 07, 2008 at 9:22 PM
on May 07, 2008 at 3:01 PM

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…

on May 07, 2008 at 2:30 PM

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…

on May 07, 2008 at 10:31 AM

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…

on May 06, 2008 at 11:52 PM

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!

on May 06, 2008 at 5:01 PM

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” /]

on May 06, 2008 at 1:46 PM

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…

on May 06, 2008 at 11:21 AM

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…

on May 05, 2008 at 11:56 AM

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/VX27o382fYs” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

on May 05, 2008 at 7:58 AM

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…

on May 04, 2008 at 11:32 PM

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…

on May 03, 2008 at 9:44 PM

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…

on May 01, 2008 at 11:25 PM

version of what is rapidly becoming Izzy’s signature tune, “Nessun dorma!”

on May 01, 2008 at 2:00 PM

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?

on May 01, 2008 at 1:10 PM

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…

on May 01, 2008 at 10:30 AM

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!

on May 01, 2008 at 1:00 AM

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…

on April 30, 2008 at 10:15 AM

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.

on April 28, 2008 at 8:44 PM

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” /]

on April 28, 2008 at 8:30 PM

. . . 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.…

on April 28, 2008 at 5:20 PM

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.

on April 28, 2008 at 4:25 PM

Recital in Tokyo, November 2007. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://youtube.com/v/kGgFU8_bpLM” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

on April 28, 2008 at 10:14 AM

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:

on April 28, 2008 at 8:38 AM
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