Review: San Francisco, Naples Jointly Celebrate Verdi Bicentennial With “Manzoni Requiem” – San Francisco Opera, October 25, 2013

Conductor Nicola Luisotti, who serves as the Music Director of both the San Francisco Opera and the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy, became the central figure in a remarkable event that has both musical and cultural significance. He conducted a performance of Verdi’s “Requiem” at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House, in which … Read more

Review: Grimsley, Lindstrom Launch a Sonically Lavish, Visually Dazzling “Flying Dutchman” – San Francisco Opera, October 22, 2013

RIchard Wagner’s “Flying Dutchman” with its relatively small cast and minimal set requirements has been a popular choice of opera managements as the vehicle for observing the 200th anniversary of the German composer’s birth-year. San Francisco Opera unveiled a new production of Wagner’s  “Flying Dutchman” that incorporates multicolored projected visual images of the ocean, ghost world … Read more

A Second Look Review: Luisotti, Terfel Teamed in Musically Brilliant, Well-Crafted “Falstaff” – San Francisco Opera, October 20, 2013

Having reviewed the  San Francisco Opera season’s first night of Verdi’s “Falstaff”, [Bryn Terfel Triumphs in an Authoritative “Falstaff” – San Francisco Opera, October 9, 2013] I returned for the fourth of the scheduled eight performances. This second review gives an opportunity to highlight many of the admirable details of the production that I had … Read more

Buff Buffo: An Interview with Kevin Burdette

The following interview took place on the “Ranch” of the Santa Fe Opera, whose facilitation of this interview is gratefully acknowledged. [Below: Basso Kevin Burdette; promotional photograph, courtesy of Kevin Burdette.] Wm: What were your earliest experiences with vocal music? With opera? KB: I am youngest of five children, the baby. I was brought up … Read more

Coast to Coast Selections of Donizetti Operas – Mid-October 2013 to Mid-March 2014

In previous posts in the Quests and Anticipations series, I have separated the operas of Donizetti from those of two composers often associated with him, Rossini and Bellini, arguing, mostly recently at Coast to Coast Selections of Donizetti and Early Verdi Opera Performances that he more logically should be considered with the early works of Verdi, a close friend … Read more