Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
South African soprano Amanda Echalaz, who has had a string of recent triumphs in the Italian dramatic soprano repertory in Great Britain, led a young cast in a new Stephen Barlow production of Puccini’s “Tosca” for opening night of 2012’s Santa Fe Opera Summer Festival. The evening was the occasion for a rousing role debut … Read more
The Further Thoughts of William on Michael Cavanagh’s production of “Nixon in China” Having reported on the San Francisco Opera premiere of Adams’ quarter-century old opera “Nixon in China” that occurred nine days earlier [see 25 Years Old, “Nixon in China” Arrives at San Francisco Opera – June 8, 2012], I attended the third performance in … Read more
The Thoughts of Tom Just 14 months after Nixon was in China, I was in China, but somehow neither Mao Tse Tung nor anyone else in China danced for me!! But, like Nixon and his wife Pat, ultimately I very much wanted and got to see The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, The Great Wall, and … Read more
The following interview was conducted in the administrative offices of the San Diego Opera, whose facilitation of this interview is greatly appreciated. For the first part of the interview, see: Rising Stars: An Interview with Danielle De Niese, Part 1. Wm: Your career differs from that of almost every other artist in that you were simultaneously … Read more
The following interview was conducted in the administrative offices of the San Diego Opera, whose facilitation of this interview is greatly appreciated: Wm: You were born and your early childhood was spent in Australia, the country that has evolved as the second homeland for the Sri Lankan Burgher Community, whose ancestral lines were Dutch, … Read more