Voi foste, io vi perdei
Christopher Corwin remembers the late soprano Ileana Cotrubas — and shares some archival recordings of her in Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Leoncavallo, and Gounod.
Sad
Limmie Pulliam 1976-2026
The American tenor, who made a triumphant mid-career comeback in 2022, has died.
Felicity Lott 1947-2026
The English soprano, famed for her interpretations of twentieth-century composers like Strauss, Britten, and Poulenc, as well as Mozart and operetta, died yesterday only a few days after announcing that she had a terminal cancer.
Music to heal the hurt
Ten years since the death of countertenor Brian Asawa, Charles Stanton remembers his friend and corrects the record on his untimely passing.
By Charles Stanton
11 comments
Everything the light touches
Vincent Lombardo pays poetic tribute to the 60-year-long career of Robert Wilson.
Robert Wilson 1941-2025
The groundbreaking director and designer of works like Einstein on the Beach died earlier today at his home in Water Mill, New York
Patrick Mack 1964-2025
parterre box is very sad to learn of the passing of beloved writer Patrick Mack in Los Angeles yesterday.
Peter Seiffert 1954-2025
The German Heldentenor died yesterday at his home in Austria.
Paul Plishka 1941-2025
The American bass, a fixture of the Metropolitan Opera between 1967 and 2018, was 83.
Otto Schenk 1930-2025
The celebrated Austrian director, known for his picturesque and conservative stagings, was 94.
Lucine Amara 1925-2024
The dependable American soprano, a fixture of the midcentury Metropolitan Opera, died on September 6
Ewa Podles, 1952-2024
The celebrated and unique Polish contralto was 71.
Queer and dangerous and exciting
Zack Woolfe of The New York Times remembers James Jorden
James Jorden, 1954-2023
The writers of the Box and James’s friends are saddened to announce the death of the inimitable founder of Parterre Box
Renata Scotto 1934-2023
The Italian soprano, pedagogue and mentor has died. She was 89.
Antonietta Stella 1929-2022
The celebrated Italian soprano died yesterday. She was 92.
Mirella Freni 1935-2020
The beloved lyric soprano has died, according to press reports.
NYCO 1943-2019
It is with a heavy heart that La Cieca predicts the demise of New York City Opera.
Marcello Giordani 1963-2019
It is reported that the tenor died suddenly today of a heart attack in his home in Augusta, Sicily.
Jessye Norman 1945-2019
The Grammy winning opera and concert singer is dead. She was 74.
Martin Bernheimer 1936-2019
Critic Martin Bernheimer has died. He was 83.
Secret origin
On this, the occasion of her 37th birthday [see below], La Cieca is happy to repeat the story of how she came to be born (as first told in the pages of parterre box, issue #28.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
