Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Placido Domingo’s Sultan Bajazet [Photo: the sultan Bajazet (Placido Domingo, center) denounces the plans of his captor Tamerlano (Bejun Mehta, upper left); edited image, based on a Robert Millard photograph, courtesy of the Los Angeles Opera.] Placido Domingo’s 20th century career was built on a tenor repertory encompassing an amazing breadth of lyric, spinto and dramatic … Read more
This post follows: An Interview with San Francisco Opera’s David Gockley, Part 1. [Below: San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley; edited image, based on a photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.] Wm: You have had a long association with Francesca Zambello, and, in a difficult period, stepped in to assure that her conceptualization of … Read more
[A note from William: this website began its existence in November 2005, less than two months before David Gockley became the sixth General Director in the history of the San Francisco Opera. Over the past four years, I have reviewed each of the productions that has been presented in San Francisco during the “Gockley Era”. … Read more
Houston Grand Opera presented Wagner’s “Lohengrin” in a new production co-developed with the Grand Theatre de Geneve. The co-production premiered in the Swiss city in 2007. [Below: Patrick Summers, Music Director of Houston Grand Opera conducts his first “Lohengrin” series; edited image, based on a Terrence McCarthy photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.] The … Read more
Nicola Luisotti, in his first season as Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, has demonstrated command of both the Italian and non-Italian operatic repertory – in September with Verdi’s “Il Trovatore”, in October with Richard Strauss’ “Salome”. In November Luisotti brought forth his conceptualization of Verdi’s dramatic masterpiece, “Otello”. He assembled a cast of … Read more
Lyric Opera has done immeasurable service to the cause of Early Verdi by creating a stylish new production of the Maestro’s megahit of 1844, “Ernani”. In consonance with the beautiful sets was a matching musical performance led by the conducting of Renato Palumbo, with a lustrous cast of principals, whose performances further confirm my belief that … Read more
Observances of the sesquicentennial of Gounod’s “Faust” begin this year – the 150th anniversary of the first version of what proved to be a revolutionary opera. To this day more popular than any French opera that preceded it, its influence on both later French and Italian opera was profound. The only French opera that exceeds … Read more