Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Note from William: In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the San Diego Opera, I will be re-printing program notes that the opera company commissioned me to write. The third of these, re-printed with the kind permission of the copyright holder, the San Diego Opera, will be the program notes for the February 2014 performances of … Read more
Note from William: In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the San Diego Opera, I will be re-printing program notes that the opera company commissioned me to write. The third of these, re-printed with the kind permission of the copyright holder, the San Diego Opera, will be the program notes for their January 2013 performances of … Read more
The following interview took place in the administrative offices of the Houston Grand Opera, whose facilitation of this conversation is deeply appreciated. This section follows: An Interview with Houston Grand Opera Managing Director Perryn Leech Part 1. Wm: You came to opera very indirectly. You were enrolled in a drama school and were introduced to … Read more
The following interview took place in the administrative offices of the Houston Grand Opera, whose facilitation of this conversation is deeply appreciated. This section is followed by: An Interview with Houston Grand Opera Managing Director Perryn Leech Part 2. [Below: Houston Grand Opera General Director Perryn Leech; resized image of a publicity photograph.] Wm: Although it’s … Read more
This feature highlights selected performances of operas in Paris, Marseille, Saint Louis and Los Angeles that I am scheduled to review. This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed beginning April 2014. These are Verdi’s “La Traviata” and Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” in San Francisco in June, … Read more
This feature highlights selected performances of operas in the Alpine cities of Geneva, Zurich and Torino. This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed beginning April 2014. These are Verdi’s “La Traviata” and Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” in San Francisco in June, 1014 [See In Quest of Italian Opera … Read more
The Los Angeles Opera chose the Ides of March to unveil a new production of Donizetti’s most famous opera, “Lucia di Lammermoor”, conducted by the opera company’s Music Director James Conlon and starring Uzbekistan-born Russian soprano Albina Shagimuratova and Albanian lyric tenor Saimir Pirgu. Coloratura Soprano Albina Shagimuratova’s Lucia In this most lustrous of the … Read more
The Lyric Opera, that commissioned Scottish production designer Sir David McVicar, to create a new production of Dvorak’s “Rusalka”, also requested that he revise his production of Mozart’s opera seria “La Clemenza di Tito” for presentation on the Lyric stage. Adding to the luster of the evening was the special attention to the work given by … Read more
i’Since I last reported on one of David McVicar’s masterful operatic productions [See 21st Century Verdi: Hvorostovsky, Ciofi, Kim, Aceto in McVicar’s Illuminating “Rigoletto” – ROH Covent Garden, October 11, 2010],, the Scottish stage director has been knighted as part of the Queen Elizabeth II’s 2012 Birthday Honors. The Lyric Opera of Chicago has mounted his … Read more
The San Diego Opera mounted Verdi’s “Ballo in Maschera [A Masked Ball]” for Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, who returned to San Diego after his 2010 debut as Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Boheme”, [Below: Piotr Beczala as King Gustavus; edited image of a Ken Howard photograph, courtesy of the San Diego Opera.] Beczala was joined by … Read more
This feature highlights selected performances of operas by the three early 19th century Italian composers collectively associated with the term “bel canto” opera. These performances are scheduled between April and November 2014, in Toronto, Santa Fe and San Francisco. This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas … Read more
The following interview was conducted in the administrative offices of the Houston Grand Opera, whose facilitation of this interview is gratefully acknowledged. [Below: Wendy Bryn Harmer; resized image of a publicity photograph from wendybrynharmer.com.] Wm: Although born in Roseville, California, you were raised in Bountiful, Utah. In my discussions with opera singers, many were … Read more
This feature highlights selected performances of two French and two German operas being performed between April and August 2014, in San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Glimmerglass, New York. This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed between April and August, 2014: These are Verdi’s … Read more