Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
[The two parts of this interview took place in the Press Room of the War Memorial Opera House, where Mark Delavan was performing the role of Wotan in the San Francisco Opera Company’s production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre”.] Wm: You came from a musical family, your father being a college-level teacher of chorale conducting and … Read more
Previously, I had reviewed the first performance of this season’s production of Gounod’s “Faust” (see Racette Ravishing, Relyea Riveting in San Francisco “Faust” – June 5, 2010). This was the second of three separate mountings of the Robert Perdziola’s sets owned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago that I was or will be scheduled to review, … Read more
[Both parts of the following interview took place in the Green Room (now the Press Room) of the San Francisco Opera’s War Memorial Opera House, where John Relyea was performing the role of Mephistopheles in Gounod’s “Faust”.] Wm: You were born into a operatic family in Toronto with classically trained singing parents. Your father, Gary … Read more
I was fortunate to be able to attend both the first and second performances of San Francisco Opera’s mounting of Wagner’s “”Die Walküre” in a co-production with the Washington National Opera, conceived by the American stage director Francesca Zambello (See my review at An American “Walküre”: Runnicles, Wagner and Zambello At San Francisco Opera – June … Read more
The second installment of Francesca Zambello’s conceptualization of Wagner’s four opera “Ring of the Nibelungs” has debuted at the San Francisco Opera. A co-production with the Washington National Opera, three entire “Ring cyles” will comprise the San Francisco Opera’s Summer Season of 2011. Although the “Walküre” production is almost the same as the one I … Read more