Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
In 2009, I personally reviewed 48 performances of operas at 11 different opera companies in the United States and Germany. Time and logistics make it impossible to see every production at every company I visit each year. However, I have managed to attend at least one performance of every main season production mounted by the … Read more
This is the tenth of ten observances of historic performances of the San Francisco Opera that I attended during the company’s annual tours of Southern California In 1950, the American debut of 35 year old operatic tenor Mario del Monaco took place at the San Francisco Opera. His American debut role was Radames in Verdi’s … Read more
The title of Gioacchino Rossini’s most famous work, identifying the occupation of a chief character, Figaro, derives from the subversive French play by Beaumarchais that helped accelerate the national campaign against aristocratic privilege that culminated in the French Revolution. Not quite three decades later, the Revolution, including its Napoleonic aftermath, was over. Rossini prepared a … Read more
The Los Angeles Opera, whose general director Placido Domingo is arguably the world’s most dominant personality in grand opera, has become a favorite destination for many of the world’s great artists. Domingo’s casting choices show a keen eye for the best talents in the world, including those who have not yet achieved widespread recognition. Even … Read more