Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
San Diego Opera once again dispelled the myth that insufficient numbers of opera singers are available to cast the mature works of Giuseppe Verdi, by assembling a cast for “Aida” worthy of any opera house. With so many of the familiar late 20th century Verdian opera performers no longing performing (at least not the Verdi roles), the … Read more
January in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County In the previous part of this celebration of Southern California’s 2007-08 Operatic Winter Wonderland, I lauded the Los Angeles Opera’s “Don Giovanni”. This was followed by the “California Does Wagner” festivities in January, with the Los Angeles Opera performing “Tristan und Isolde” and the San Diego … Read more
San Diego Opera, which began the evening of March 22nd with an imaginative new production of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” followed with a new production, starring Jose Cura and Elizabeth Futral, of, “I Pagliacci”, the only truly successful opera of Ruggero Leoncavallo. [Below: Canio (Jose Cura) shows possessive affection to Nedda (Elizabeth Futral); edited image based on a Ken Howard … Read more