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.
Margaret Hamilton stars in the title role of The Licia Albanese Story. (Actually, that is Margaret Hamilton, but the role is that of an eccentric Texas millionairess who hires a high school band to accompany her performance of the national anthem in the Astrodome. It’s the opening scene of Robert Altman‘s 1970 film Brewster McCloud. […]
Well, who says that the summer is a slow news season for opera? The top story this week is that the Royal Opera Covent Garden is living up to it name (the royal part I mean) by casting Deborah Voigt as Ariadne for their 2007-08 season. And bravi to La Voigt herself and her publicity […]
Due to server snafu, La Cieca has had to repost the “Che Faremo” poll. Please feel free to vote again (or for the first time!) Who should replace Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in the Met’s production of Orfeo? Alice Coote David Daniels Susan Graham Bejun Mehta Ewa Podles Dolora Zajick Nessuno — cancel the production!
The fascinating and unconventional artist Lorraine Hunt Lieberson died yesterday at her home in Santa Fe. We in New York heard her only infrequently in opera, most recently in Serse and La clemenza di Tito at the NYCO and Les Troyens at the Met. She was scheduled to sing Orfeo in a new production of […]
A reader sends La Cieca this YouTube video of the lovely Danielle De Niese in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. The intriguing Bollywood-themed production is by David McVicar.
Those of you cher public who frequent the left coast have probably seen the new Los Angeles Opera production of La traviata, the one that bumps the period of the action forward from the epoch of Alexandre Dumas fils to that of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Well, of course the svelte and lovely Elizabeth Futral looks […]
UPDATE: this story really does need an “evil twin” graphic. Oh, my! Will Crutchfield is talking to himself!
La Cieca has found a few fragments from last night’s performance of Tosca at the ROH — only about 15 minutes of music, but enough, perhaps, to give a hint of the suitability of Angela Gheorghiu for the title role. La Cieca’s take (based on an in-house mike, remember!) is that the Roman diva is […]
Before La Cieca departs on holiday from her podcasting duties, allow her to introduce The Podderdammerung Page. Once again, La Cieca scoops the universe: here on parterre.com you can now listen to (or download) the entire Ring cycle, as featured on this month’s Unnatural Acts of Opera. What sort of Ring will you hear there? […]
By now, cher public, you have all heard about the Skandal in Vienna: Olga Borodina was sacked from L’italiana in Algeri (or did she walk out?) because, well, there were a variety of reasons proffered. Short version, though, is that the Staatsoper press office announced “All contracts between Olga Borodina and the Vienna State Opera […]
Yes, that’s our own Susan Graham, starring in an operatic version of the hit film Transamerica. Kudos to the hair, makeup and costume people of the Opera national de Paris for making Susie look so convincingly like a pre-op transsexual! Well, no, actually, the opera is Iphigenie en Tauride, and apparently the opening night audience […]
Elegantly bescarved divas Grace Bumbry and Shirley Verrett (in alphabetical order) “rehearse” scenes from Aida and Norma in preparation for their historic 1983 duo concert.
Well, La Cieca has thought herself a mistress of the sizzling putdown, but she has been severely dethroned by one Andrew Clark of the Financial Times. So, how dull and conservative is Jonathan Kent‘s new staging of Tosca at the Royal Opera? “Kent’s production is the sort you expect at the Metropolitan Opera.” Oh, no […]
Our left coast correspondent Baritenor reports: I would not call Grendel an opera for the faint-hearted. The libretto is well-written, but the score jumps to both ends of the operatic spectrum, going from lyrical to modernistic to lyrical again in the blink of an eye. Think Benjamin Britten on crack, if you will, only with […]
The event that seemed poised to evoke the year’s biggest outpouring of Schadenfreude has finally transpired. The critical response to Angela Gheorghiu‘s first staged Tosca (Royal Opera, Covent Garden, June 13) could best be described as mixed. The diva’s vocal and visual glamour elicited kind words from all the critics, despite general reservations about a […]
Undoubtedly the apex of Beverly Sills‘ career: Pigoletto, in collaboration with the Muppets. UPDATE: this is a corrected version with improved sound and an un-dubbed Miss Piggy!)
La Cieca is singing the praises of her namesake la la, a website that coordinates the trading of previously owned CDs. This is how it works: you list your unwanted CDs on the site, then you select from the 1.8 million titles other members are willing to trade. Every time you choose a disc to […]
UPDATE: the podcast of Das Rheingold is now online! La Cieca is delighted and not a little bit frightened to announce that Unnatural Acts of Opera will present the first-ever podcast of Wagner’s tetraology Der Ring des Nibelungen beginning Friday, June 2 and continuing through the last weekend of the month. The series will consist […]
Since this week’s Unnatural Acts of Opera podcasts feature a classic live recording of Bizet’s Carmen, La Cieca thought it might be fun to remember the legendary chanteuse Leona Anderson with a clip of her performance of the Habanera. La Anderson, who was once described as “the missing link between Florence Foster Jenkins and Mrs. […]
Curtain call at a recent gala event. (Note, toward the end of the clip, Denyce Graves holding up the bodice of her strapless dress!)
David Gockley talks to a gay paper about fisting. (Well, when you’re running the San Francisco Opera, knowing these things is surely part of the job description.)
La Cieca doesn’t want to get all pedantic here, but she does want to point out that the phrase Mirella Freni sang at the end of her rambling monologue at the Volpe gala was not from Act 3 of La boheme. Or rather, the musical phrase reappears in the opera, but the version Freni sang […]
For your Sills-related listening enjoyment today, this collection of Bubblecasts. And here’s Our Beverly singing Zerbinetta — the hard way.(As seen at Beverly Sills Online. From YouTube, Beverly Sills on Video.
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