Most of my local culturati pals know that Elisabeth Vincentelli, my longtime colleague and aesthetic soulmate-cum-sparring partner at TONY (and the diligent blogger behind The Determined Dilettante), flew the coop some weeks ago in order to become the new chief theater critic at the New York Post. Strange and wonderful as that development was, another surprise came this morning, this one not nearly so well kept among kultur circles: James Jorden, a very stylish and deeply insightful opera critic (and an unnatural friend to all who frequent Parterre Box), made his opening splash all over Mary Zimmerman's La Sonnambula in this morning's Post. Here's hoping this is the first of many sightings; we need more voices weighing in here, especially those as cheeky and informed as Jorden's.