Review: “Sweeney Todd” at Houston Grand Opera: Nathan Gunn, Director Lee Blakeley Make a Compelling Case for Sondheim as Opera, April 24, 2015

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Over the past half decade Parisian opera audiences have taken to heart the dramatic musical works of American composer Stephen Sondheim, presented at the Théâtre du Châtelet. A foursome of Sondheim productions – which included “Into the Woods”, “Sunday in the Park with George” and “A Little Night Music” – were conceived by Scottish director Lee Blakeley. The Houston … Read more

In Quest of Operatic World Premieres – June-December, 2015

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Below is a list of world premieres of new operas, which I will be reviewing between June and December, 2015.    This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed from April 2015 through February 2016: Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” at the Houston Grand Opera and the San Francisco Opera and … Read more

Review: New Faces for “Marriage of Figaro” – Los Angeles Opera, March 21, 2015

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The Los Angeles Opera presented Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” in a performance that was cheered by the appreciative audience. The cast demonstrated, not only the depth of the world’s operatic talent, but the commitment of the Los Angeles Opera to introducing new singers or singers in new roles to Los Angeles audiences. The quintet of … Read more

Review: San Diego Opera’s “Nixon in China” with Pomponi, Kanyova, Kim and Shelton – March 20, 2015

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The San Diego Opera mounted the most complex production of its three-opera 2014-15 season – the first San Diego appearances of John Adams’ extraordinary 1987 opera “Nixon in China”. The opera has been discussed on these pages, particularly the popular Vancouver (British Columbia) production seen in San Francisco [see  25 Years Old, “Nixon in China” … Read more

Dressing Renée Fleming’s Violetta: A Conversation with John Pascoe, Part 7

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This continues the series of conversations that I have had with British opera director John Pascoe. This is the seventh part of the conversation. This part follows: Homage to Dame Joan Sutherland: A Conversation with Director John Pascoe, Part 6.     [Below: Director John Pascoe; resized image of a personal 2014 photograph, courtesy of John Pascoe.] … Read more

Review: New Orleans Opera’s Spectacular “Lucia di Lammermoor” with Laura Claycomb, William Burden – March 15, 2015

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The New Orleans Opera presents two performances each of four operas each season. As the third opera of its 2014-15 season it created a new production of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor”, directed by E. Loren Meeker with sets by Ryan McGettigan. The cast, led by Texas lyric coloratura soprano Laura Claycomb in the title role and … Read more

Review: Zambello’s Production of Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites” at the Kennedy Center – March 8, 2015

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Reviving a production she created for the Opera National de Paris (now listed as a Washington National Opera production), Francesca Zambello assembled a major cast for Poulenc’s mid-20th century opera. The opera explores the final days of the lives of several members of a small convent of Carmelite nuns in a Parisian suburb who are trapped in … Read more

Review: Fair Weather and a Well-Sung “Flying Dutchman” at Washington National Opera – March 7, 2015

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Washington D.C., two days before the opening of Wagner’s “Flying Dutchman”, had been battered by snowstorms so fierce that they required cancellation of a Washington National Opera Thursday night performance of Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites”, But on Saturday evening, fair weather prevailed and it proved smooth sailing for Wagner’s inherently stormy opera. Assuring a propitious opening night was the … Read more

In Quest of American “Opera Repertory-Expanding” Musical Works, March-September, 2015

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Below is a list of American musical works that have entered or are scheduled to enter the performance repertory of major opera companies, which I will be reviewing between March and September, 2015.  Although each work is quite different from operas of the traditional repertory, each work benefits from operatic voices and the orchestral and production resources of major … Read more

Review: Rossini Royalty Present Brilliant “Barber of Seville” – Los Angeles Opera, February 28, 2015

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Los Angeles Opera Music Director and Chief Conductor James Conlon is the champion of his opera company’s “Figaro Trilogy” of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”, Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” and Corigliano’s “Ghosts of Versailles” performed over a two month period that began in early February [See Review: Los Angeles Opera Launches Ambitious New Production of “Ghosts of … Read more

Review: Blythe, Rae, Shrader Sizzle in Seattle Opera’s Saucy “Semele” – February 25, 2015

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The Seattle Opera has launched a new production of Handel’s 1744 opera “Semele”, about Jupiter’s affair with a human being who turns out to be the mother of Bacchus (Dionysius). Cleverly staged by Tomer Zvulun with impressive sets and projections by Erhard Rom, it provided a vehicle for triumphant performances by Brenda Rae in the … Read more

In Quest of Donizetti and Early Verdi – March 2015 through August 2015.

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As noted in other postings in this “Quests and Anticipations” series, I prefer to segment the operas of the most famous early and mid-19th century Italian composers in a non-traditional way: (1) those of Rossini and Bellini, (2) those of Donizetti and early Verdi (i.e, those of the tw0 decades between Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena” and Verdi’s … Read more

In Quest of Operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss: March-November, 2015

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Below is a list of performances of operas by German composer Richard Wagner and Austrian composer Richard Strauss that I am scheduled to attend and review between March and November 2015.   This list is supplementary to previous lists in this “Quests and Anticipations” series of selected operas being performed from February 2015 through March 2016: … Read more

Review: Ildebrando D’Arcangelo Leads Strong “Don Giovanni” Cast – San Diego Opera, February 14, 2015

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Italian bass-baritone Ildebrando D’Arcangelo’s February 14 debut at the San Diego Opera proved to be a Valentine’s Gift to a community that succeeded in rescuing its endangered opera company. D’Arcangelo was a saucy Don, his solid vocal performance and his matinee idol good looks confirming his inclusion in the wide world’s inner circle of contemporary interpreters of this iconic role. [See … Read more

In Quest of “Figaro” Operas – February 2015 through February 2016

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The Los Angeles Opera’s current Figaro festival celebrates the most famous opera based on each of French dramatist Beaumarchais’ trilogy of revolutionary plays – Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”, Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” and John Corigliano’s “Ghosts of Versailles” (the latter that incorporates the plot of the final drama in the trilogy, “The Guilty Mother”). Although I am not … Read more

Review: Los Angeles Opera Launches Ambitious New Production of “Ghosts of Versailles” – February 7, 2015

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New productions of contemporary American operas are important events. Perhaps no such work has been given a new look with the dedication of musical and visual resources as the Los Angeles Opera’s new mounting of John Corigliano’s 1991 opera, “The Ghosts of Versailles”. The production was stunning. It was created by the team responsible for Broadway’s “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love … Read more

In Quest of Less Well-Known Operas – February to August, 2015

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For those who might worry that fhe operatic companies of the future will  limit themselves to a “safe” nine-opera repertory, consisting of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro”, “Don Giovanni” and “Magic Flute”, Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”, Verdi’s “La Traviata”, Bizet’s “Carmen”, and Puccini’s “La Boheme”, “Tosca” and “Madama Butterfly”, one can find exotic fare offered by American companies, … Read more

A Year of Operatic World Premieres: A Conversation with Basso Kevin Burdette

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Previously, I conducted an interview with basso Kevin Burdette, which can be accessed at Buff Buffo: An Interview with Kevin Burdette. The following conversation took place in anticipation of Burdette’s scheduled appearances as Doctor Beck Weathers in the world premiere of Talbot’s “Everest” at The Dallas Opera.   [Below: Basso Kevin Burdette; resized image of a publicity photograph.] Wm: … Read more

Review: Dramatic, Theatrical and Cinematic: San Diego Opera is Back in Business with Brilliant “Boheme”

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In March 2014, the Board of Directors of the San Diego Opera announced that the company would cease operations, just short of its 50th anniversary. The community uproar that greeted the pronouncement resulted in the resignation of much of the board, and its replacement by a new board dedicated to resolving the company’s financial issues … Read more

Opera in Live Performance: Thoughts and Assessments at the End of 2014

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Note from William: this continues my series of “end of the year” thoughts on the live performance of opera.  My “Thoughts and Assessments” series began at the end of calendar year 2009. Each year since then I’ve discussed a variety of subjects, including the role of philanthropy in opera, the casual destruction by opera companies of … Read more

Rising Stars: An Interview with Elizabeth DeShong

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The following interview took place in the administrative offices of the San Francisco Opera, whose facilitation is deeply appreciated. [Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong; resized image of a Kristen Howbermann photograph, courtesy of Elizaveth DeShong] Wm: What are your earliest memories of music? ED: Music was always a part of my family. My father is a United Methodist … Read more

A Conversation with Lyric Coloratura Soprano Laura Claycomb, Part 3

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This continues from A Conversation with Lyric Coloratura Soprano Laura Claycomb, Part 2.   [Below: Lyric-coloratura Soprano Laura Claycomb; resized image of a Sergio Valente photograph, courtesy of Laura Claycomb.] Wm: Your show at Glyndebourne the summer before wa also Vladimir Jurowsky’s last show as Glyndebourne’s Music Director. What did that add to the mix of “Ariadne auf … Read more

Grading San Francisco Opera Productions for Calendar Year 2014

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Beginning with calendar year 2006 (the year that the current San Francisco Opera general director David Gockley assumed his post), I have given letter grades to each of San Francisco Opera’s productions during that calendar year.  Like the seminars associated with Ph.D. programs, I do not grade “on a curve”, but, instead expect that a … Read more

Historical Performances: Joan Sutherland, Ilosfalvy, Waechter in “La Traviata” – San Francisco Opera, November 5, 1964

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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 last of 13 such observances of performances from the company’s 1964 Fall season. My final performance of the 1964 San Francisco Opera season was Verdi’s “La Traviata” … Read more

Historical Performances: Shostakovich’s “Katerina Ismailova” with Marie Collier, Jon Vickers – San Francisco Opera, October 31, 1964

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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 13 such observances of performances from the company’s 1964 Fall season. The final offering of the Fall 1964 San Francisco Opera season was the … Read more