Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Here’s the latest in our series of Time Machine excursions back to the great days of opera in mid-20th century, the accent on conductors. Guest commentator is Arthur Bloomfield, drawing on material from his new e-book on the styles of the oldtime maestri available at morethanthenotes.com. Arthur as a young GI on leave from Army … Read more
San Francisco Opera, whose history has been firmly based in the Italian wing of the opera repertory, continued the project of General Director David Gockley and Music Director Nicola Luisotti to restore the house’s reputation as a first rank company for producing the operatic works of Giuseppe Verdi. San Francisco Opera’s 2010 season opened with … Read more
Note from William: The odds against any opera being successful are very long. However, if newly composed operas are not performed, or if once they are first performed, they are never performed again, then there is almost no chance of new works joining the standard operatic repertory. The Santa Fe Opera since its founding in … Read more
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 five such observances of performances from the company’s 1960 Fall season. My musical tastes as a teenager in San Diego encompassed most … Read more
