By James Jorden
Few operatic experiences—indeed few human experiences—exist or, nonexistent, emerge from the imagination, that cannot be described with a quotation from that most definitive of all diva novels, Mawrdew Czgowchwz by James McCourt. And so it is with the career (or should one say the life?) of the Regie fancier. (more…)
By James Jorden
It’s the laziest of journalistic tropes to lead off with “this guy I know says…” but in this case the guy in question has provided me with what I consider a really handy peg for a first column on opera stage direction. Anyway, this guy—who’s in his 70s now, a retired opera record pirate, but, more to the point, one of the survivors from the 1950s golden age of the Met standing room line—he’s got a “line” expression for just about every operatic experience imaginable. (more…)