William Burnett

I have been attending opera performances since my early teenage years. In 2005, I created operawarhorses.com, and have traveled throughout North America, and to Europe and Asia to report on opera performances and to interview opera performers, conductors and administrators.

The San Francisco Opera Centennial: Artist Conversations, Part 1: Kevin Langan

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In observance of the hundredth season of the San Francisco Opera, whose performances I have attended since my middle and high school years, I am conducting a series of conversations with artists associated with the company. The first of these conversations is with American bass Kevin Langan, who participated in the company’s Merola young artists … Read more

In Quest of 21st Century Operas

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The following is a list of operas, each composed in the second or third decade of the 21st century, performances of which I am scheduled to review at the San Francisco and Santa Fe Operas. The Dream of the Red Chamber (Sheng and Hwang), San Francisco Opera, June 14, 17, 19, 23, 25, July 1 … Read more

Historical Performances: Ghita Hager Directs Roberto, di Virgilio, Cossa in “Cavalleria Rusticana” – San Francisco Spring Opera Theater [SPOT] – June 16, 1967

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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 first of three such observances of performances from the company’s 1967 Spring Opera Theater [SPOT] season. My first performance ever of Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria … Read more