Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
I attended the third of five scheduled San Francisco Opera performances of Matthew Ozawa’s handsome new produciton of Wagner’s “Parsifal”, The opera was beautifully sung, the singers accompanied by the brilliant sound of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, led by the company’s Music Director, Maestra Eun Sun Kim. Brandon Jovanovich’s Parsifal [Photo: The naive, youthful … Read more
During San Francisco Opera’s 1967 Fall opera eason I had already seen eight of the 13 scheduled operas performed. In the first weekend of November, I had the attended the American premiere of Schuller’s “The Visitation” on Friday night. On the following Saturday night, I saw the season’s second of five performances of Gounod’s “Faust”. … Read more
On the 25fh anniversary of its San Francisco Opera world premiere, Jake Heggie’s opera “Dead Man Walking” was presented again. The conductor of the world premiere, Maestro Patrick Summers returned for the anniversary revival, as did mezzo-soprano Susan Graham who created the role of Sister Prejean in the first performances. In the revival, she assumed … Read more
The San Francisco Opera’s music director, South Korean Maestra Eun Sun Kim, has committed to conducting one Verdi and one Wagner opera each San Francisco Opera season. This provides the company with an opportunity to give special attention to works of the two 19th century operatic geniuses. Verdi’s mid-19th century opera “Rigoletto” is the third … Read more
This review is of the third of four scheduled Santa Fe Opera performances of a Garsington Opera production of Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” (now owned by the Canadian Opera Company). Jacquelyn Stucker’s Governess [Photo: Jacquelyn Stucker as the Governess; edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.] … Read more