Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Since my junior high school years, I have been attending performances of the San Francisco Opera. Beginning with calendar year 2006, I have given letter grades to each of San Francisco Opera’s productions during that calendar year. These are my grades for the 12th year. Like the seminars associated with Ph.D. programs, I do not … Read more
The following conversation follows up on a previous interview [see: Rising Stars: An interview with Leah Crocetto.] [Soprano Leah Crocetto; edited image of a Fay Fox photograph, courtesy of Leah Crocetto.] Wm: Since we last talked, you’ve had some career milestones, including your role debut as Aida in a new production of Verdi’s “Aida” and … Read more
Chicago’s Lyric Opera mounted its momentous new David Pountney production of “Die Walküre”, the second of the four operas of Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungs”. “Die Walküre” requires six principal singers. It enlists an additional eight female voices for the third act scene containing the famous “Ride of the Valkyries”. For its new production, the Lyric … Read more
Chicago’s Lyric Opera mounted Dame Zandra Rhodes’ exotic production of Bizet’s “The Pearl Fishers” with a stellar cast led by Matthew Polenzani as Nadir, Marius Kwiecien as Zurga, Marina Rebeka as Leila and Andrea Silvestrelli as Nourabad. Each of the three principal artists (Leila, Nadir and Zurga) who form a triangle of love and friendship have … Read more