Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Italian Opera Composer Gaetano Donizetti is usually identified – along with Rossini and Bellini – as one of the principal exponents of the bel canto school of the early 19th century, which, in the legends about the history of opera that gained currency in the late 19th and 20th centuries, was in decline by the … Read more
Already this year, I have posted two previous reviews of performances of the esteemed David Hockney production of Puccini’s “Turandot”. The production incorporates the Hockney’s set designs with the wondrous costumes designed by his one-time collaborator, Ian Falconer. The production provided the opening night festivities for the opening nights of both the San Diego Opera’s … Read more
A proper headline for this essay, and a banner one too, should proclaim: LEO BLECH GREAT VERDI CONDUCTOR. One rather expects a German with excellent Berlin credentials — and a crisp little name, by the way, that means “tin,” but Blech had no tin ear — to be the genius he was with Wagner. But the grace, drama … Read more
As the vehicle for her return to the San Francisco Opera after a decade’s absence, Renee Fleming introduced California audiences to an opera and production that she has championed, the John Pascoe production of Donizetti’s “Lucrezia Borgia”. The Fleming-Pascoe collaboration on Donizetti’s influential masterpiece – a milestone in Italian opera – is clearly a labor … Read more
The following interview was conducted at the Santa Fe Opera “ranch” in August, 2011. The facilitation of this interview by the Santa Fe Opera is very much appreciated. [Below: Conductor and Santa Fe Opera Music Director Frederic Chaslin.] Wm: You were born in Paris. What were the influences that led you into a career with … Read more
Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutte”, not performed by the Los Angeles Opera in a decade and a half, has been mounted in an elegant production, created for the 2006 Glyndebourne Festival by Nicholas Hytner (since knighted as Sir Nicholas), to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. [Below: Sir Nicholas Hytner, who conceived the production of “Cosi … Read more
For the opening night of Los Angeles Opera’s 25th season, the company chose a work it has never performed before – Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”. The production used was the 2006 production that the late British stage director Steven Pimlott had devised for London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Helsinki’s Finnish National Opera. The Pimlott … Read more
The world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ new opera “Heart of a Soldier”, took place at the War Memorial Opera House, itself dedicated to the heroes of World War I, on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City. The opera, the third San Francisco Opera … Read more
A few physical opera productions should properly be considered works of museum-quality art. David Hockney’s production of Puccini’s “Turandot”, one of San Francisco Opera’s most spectacular productions, unquestionably belongs in such a category. (The production was co-produced with Lyric Opera of Chicago, where it premiered in 1992. The first performance in San Francisco in 1993 is … Read more
[Note from William: Tenor Salvatore Licitra died September 5, 2011 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident near Ragusa, Sicily on August 27, 2011. In his memory, I am re-posting the interview I conducted with him in November 2009 in Chicago, with hyperlinks to my reviews (with production photographs) of four of his recent performances. … Read more
This is the eighth post that I’ve made from a visit to the 2011 Glimmerglass Festival, of events that occurred in a period of 52 hours duration – five operas, an interview with Glimmerglass Festival Artistic & General Manager Francesca Zambello, and a concert of American songs by lyric baritone Nathan Gunn, accompanied by his … Read more