Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
In observance of the hundredth season of the San Francisco Opera, whose performances I have attended since my middle and high school years, I am conducting a series of conversations with artists associated with the company. The first of these conversations is with American bass Kevin Langan, who participated in the company’s Merola young artists … Read more
The following is a list of operas, each composed in the second or third decade of the 21st century, performances of which I am scheduled to review at the San Francisco and Santa Fe Operas. The Dream of the Red Chamber (Sheng and Hwang), San Francisco Opera, June 14, 17, 19, 23, 25, July 1 … Read more
The first of a series of discussions with opera director Grischa Asagaroff about the production and performance of opera in Europe and North America in the late 20th century.
Note from William: This post continues my series of observances of historic performances that I attended at San Francisco Opera during the general directorship of Kurt Herbert Adler. This is the first of three such observances of performances from the company’s 1967 Spring Opera Theater [SPOT] season. My first performance ever of Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria … Read more
Since the year 2006, I have reviewed each of the opera productions mounted by the San Francisco Opera in the War Memorial Opera House, providing each with a letter grade. As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemics, all of the War Memorial Opera House performances scheduled in 2020 and in the first seven months of … Read more