Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Following up on last year’s feature on unusual “double bills” of operas, this feature highlights selected operatic double bills that I am scheduled to review that are to be performed by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Opera companies. This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed from … Read more
Often, the early 19th century operas of Verdi are dismissed as merely vehicles to display the technical vocal skills of artists, with little attention to the operatic “plots”. However, modern directors, many with long experience with the theater, have found that the early operas of Verdi and his predecessors Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini have much to … Read more
Note from William: In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the San Diego Opera, I will be re-printing program notes that the opera company commissioned me to write. The fifth of these, re-printed with the kind permission of the copyright holder, the San Diego Opera, appeared as the program notes for their February 2014 performances of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. … Read more
The first offering the Sixth Korea Opera Festival, held in May and early June 2015 was Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”, performed by the Muak Opera Company on three consecutive days at the attractive and acoustically impressive Seoul Arts Center. [Below: the Seoul Arts Center with the skyline of Seoul in the background; edited image, based … Read more
Below is a list of performances of Mozart’s “La Finta Giardiniera” and “The Magic Flute” that I am scheduled to review: This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed from April 2015 through February 2016: Tutino’s “Two Women (La Ciociara)” at the San Francisco Opera, Higdon’s “Cold Mountain” … Read more