Review: Maestra Eun Sun Kim, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Soloists Celebrate 200th Anniversary of Beethoven’s “Symphony Number Nine” – October 26, 2024

In an unprecedented evening in San Francisco Opera history, instead of an operatic performance, the San Francisco Opera scheduled a performance of Ludwig von Beethoven’s Symphony Number Nine. The sold-out performance celebrated the 200th anniversary year of the Ninth Symphony’s first performance in May, 1824. “The Ninth” is an epochal contribution to the format of … Read more

Review: ONeill and Kampe Lead a Powerfully Performed “Tristan und Isolde” – San Francisco Opera, October 27, 2024

I was present at the third of five performances of San Francisco Opera’s presentation of Paul Curran’s production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde”. The production, created in 2012 for the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, incorporated some minor modifications for its presentation in San Francisco. The opera was presented without cuts. Simon O’Neill’s Tristan and … Read more

Review: A Cautionary “Handmaid’s Tale” , San Francisco Opera, September 14, 2024

In a three and a half month period in mid-2024, the San Francisco Opera presented two contemporary operas from two Nordic countries – Finland and Denmark. One performance was the late composer Kiaja Saariaho’s 2019 opera “Innocence [American Premiere Review: Saariaho’s and Oksanen’s “Innocence”- a Milestone in the Dramatic Possibilities of Operatic Performance – San … Read more

Review: Michael Fabiano, Lianna Haroutounian Lead a Beautifully Performed, Intelligently Directed “Ballo in Maschera” – San Francisco Opera, September 15, 2024

This performance review discusses the third of seven performances of San Francisco Opera’s mounting of Giuseppe Verdi’s middle-period opera of 1859, “Un Ballo in Maschera”. The opera, which opened the company’s 2024-25 season, its 102nd, was staged by Italian director Leo Muscato, in an insightful production. Director Leo Muscato’s Staging of Verdi’s “Ballo in Maschera” … Read more