Reviews

Fifty years ago in Los Angeles, when I saw my first Wagnerian Opera, it was the San Francisco Opera company that travelled to Southern California to share its wealth of “world class” opera performances. Now, we have had the unpleasant experience of a decade of decline in San Francisco, which the new management of David … Read more

The detractors of Jules Massenet, who wish all of his operas would disappear once and for all, experienced a near-fatal blow when his most performed opera, “Manon”, was revived in a brilliant new Los Angeles Opera production at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. A quartet of celebrities assured that the endeavor would make a splash in … Read more

Verdi’s “Ballo in Maschera” returned to the San Francisco Opera with the role of Amelia reprised by Deborah Voigt.  She again proved herself to be a full-voiced Verdian dramatic soprano, in a role she had sung 16 years ago here in the excellent company of Ermanno Mauro. Her Gustavo/Riccardo in the 2006 performance was Marcus … Read more

After much anticipation Los Angeles Opera’s new and dazzling Don Carlo arrived as, without any doubt, one of the 10 best productions I’ve seen in LA since enjoying opera in LA since the nifty-fifties (seen Sept 20 and to be seen again Sept 28!!).  It was advertised widely in the  LA press as (quote) “One … Read more

The decision to mount Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus”, that zany parody of late nineteenth century Viennese high life, was made after David Gockley was appointed the new General Director of the San Francisco Opera in 2005. The 1990 production, from the era of former General Director Lotfi Mansouri, was sung in usually intelligible English (all … Read more