Thomas Rubbert

Commemorating stellar super-composer Richard Wagner’s 200th Birth Date on May 22, 2013, Los Angeles Opera joins many other opera companies, worldwide, by presenting one of his most entrancing-dramatic works, Der Fliegende Hollaender — The Flying Dutchman. The cast features Tomas Thomasson as The Dutchman, making his Los Angeles Opera debut. Tomasson’s Dutchman brought down the house. He scored a home run at Los Angeles Opera as did this entire … Read more

A Review by Tom Rubbert A cold, rainy night did not dampen the spirits of the excited full-house seeing Los Angeles Opera’s opening night performance of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”. The house was treated to a superbly crafted evening of glorious music very aptly conducted by Grant Gershon, whose experience as L. A. Opera’s long time chorus … Read more

The Thoughts of Tom Just 14 months after Nixon was in China, I was in China, but somehow neither Mao Tse Tung nor anyone else in China danced for me!! But, like Nixon and his wife Pat, ultimately I very much wanted and got to see The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, The Great Wall, and … Read more

Arriving at the War Memorial Opera House before this season’s wildly extraordinary “Siegfried”, San Francisco was treated to colorful flags all over the city proclaiming this 2011 Ring Festival, continuing a long tradition in San Francisco of presenting full-scale Ring productions for decades – as in 1935, 1972, 1985, 1990, 1999. But the first full cycle … Read more

Concluding the very sensational 2011 San Diego Opera Season is the all time operatic winner in every opera house world-wide – Bizet’s marvelous crowd-pleaser (and revenue-enhancer) “Carmen”, which has graced San Diego’s stage many times, always to huge applause. As expected, the house was sold out and the audience highly enthusiastic about the sun-dappled production with its impressive cast … Read more