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.

Review: “Cosi fan Tutte” – Nicely Sung, Imaginatively Staged – San Francisco Opera, November 21, 2021

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  This is a review of the first performance of a new production of “Cosi fan Tutte” conceived by Director Michael Cavanagh for the San Francisco Opera. The opera “Cosi fan Tutte”, like the operas “Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni”, is a collaboration between Composer Wolfgang Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. Cavanagh conceptualized a … Read more

Historical Performances: Ramon Vinay, Raina Kabaivanska Lead Memorable “Falstaff” – San Francisco Opera, November 20, 1966

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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 thirteenth of fourteen such observances of performances from the company’s 1966 Fall season. Ramon Vinay’s Falstaff In what would be his final career performance at … Read more

Historical Performances: Marie Collier Triumphs in American Premiere of Janacek’s “Vec Makropulos” – San Francisco Opera, November 19, 1966

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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 twelfth of fourteen such observances of performances from the company’s 1966 Fall season. In the Fall 1966 San Francisco Opera season, as a subscriber to … Read more

Opera World Premiere Review: Vanessa Becerra Stars in Dramatically Persuasive “Copper Queen” Film – Arizona Opera, October 29, 2021

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The town of Bisbee, which lies in the Mule Mountains of Southeastern Arizona near the Mexican border, was a thriving mining town during the early 20th century. In 1902, the town’s most famous landmark, the Copper Queen Hotel, opened. The hotel over the decades has built a reputation around reports of ghosts haunting specific suites. … Read more