December 2016 – Opera Warhorses

Historical Performances: “Ariadne auf Naxos” with Hillebrecht, Thomas, Grist, Vanni – San Francisco Opera, October 23, 1965

May 4, 2020December 31, 2016 by William Burnett

Note from William: This post continues my series of observances of historic performances that I attended at San Francisco Opera during the general directorship of Kurt Herbert Adler. This is the twelfth of sixteen such observances of performances from the company’s 1965 Fall season. The next opera on my Saturday night San Francisco Opera live performance series … Read more

Historical Performances: “Tosca” with Marie Collier, Jess Thomas and Ramon Vinay – San Francisco Opera, October 21, 1965

April 22, 2020December 21, 2016 by William Burnett

Note from William: This post continues my series of observances of historic performances that I attended at San Francisco Opera during the general directorship of Kurt Herbert Adler. This is the eleventh of sixteen such observances of performances from the company’s 1965 Fall season. Five days after attending a performance of Puccini’s “Tosca” on my 1965 … Read more

Historical Performances: “Tosca” with Collier, Konya and Vinay – San Francisco Opera, October 16, 1965

April 22, 2020December 18, 2016 by William Burnett

Note from William: This post continues my series of observances of historic performances that I attended at San Francisco Opera during the general directorship of Kurt Herbert Adler. This is the tenth of sixteen such observances of performances from the company’s 1965 Fall season. The next offering on my 1965 Saturday night subscription was the return, … Read more

Grading San Francisco Opera Performances for Calendar Year 2016

January 16, 2022December 15, 2016 by William Burnett

Beginning with calendar year 2006, I have given letter grades to each of San Francisco Opera’s productions during that calendar year. Like the seminars associated with Ph.D. programs, I do not grade “on a curve”, but, instead expect that a San Francisco Opera performance of any opera, like a seminar grade for a doctoral student, … Read more

World Premiere Review: Jake Heggie’s Celestial Transformation of “It’s a Wonderful Life” – Houston Grand Opera, December 2, 2016

July 31, 2020December 4, 2016 by William Burnett

California composer Jake Heggie’s new opera “It’s a Wonderful Life” was launched at the Houston Grand Opera. Heggie collaborated with librettist Gene Scheer, with whom he created “Moby Dick”, his most ambitious opera to date [See World Premiere: Heggie’s Theatrically Brilliant, Melodic “Moby Dick” at Dallas Opera – April 30, 2010], Heggie and Scheer incorporated ideas from both the 1943 Philip van Doren Stern … Read more