Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Over the past year or so, I have on various occasions presented evidence that refutes the cliche that there no longer are opera singers capable of singing the principal roles in Giuseppe Verdi’s operas. However, one concedes that, like the music dramas of Wagner, Verdi operas can add levels of complexity to the already stressful tasks … Read more
For the past four years, I have published my thoughts on the performance of grand opera, usually as reviews of live performances that I have attended, mostly in the American West (defined here as a line from mid-Pennsylvania to the Pacific Ocean), but I also include reviews from such non-American West outposts as France and … Read more
In midyear 2008, I highlighted the operatic works of Benjamin Britten in a “Quests and Anticipations” feature, entitled In Quest of Britten – A 2008-09 Itinerary. During that period, I reviewed performances of Britten works at the Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera and the Hamburg Staatsoper and my colleague Tom reviewed another at the San … Read more
In 2009, I personally reviewed 48 performances of operas at 11 different opera companies in the United States and Germany. Time and logistics make it impossible to see every production at every company I visit each year. However, I have managed to attend at least one performance of every main season production mounted by the … Read more
This is the tenth of ten observances of historic performances of the San Francisco Opera that I attended during the company’s annual tours of Southern California In 1950, the American debut of 35 year old operatic tenor Mario del Monaco took place at the San Francisco Opera. His American debut role was Radames in Verdi’s … Read more
The title of Gioacchino Rossini’s most famous work, identifying the occupation of a chief character, Figaro, derives from the subversive French play by Beaumarchais that helped accelerate the national campaign against aristocratic privilege that culminated in the French Revolution. Not quite three decades later, the Revolution, including its Napoleonic aftermath, was over. Rossini prepared a … Read more
The Los Angeles Opera, whose general director Placido Domingo is arguably the world’s most dominant personality in grand opera, has become a favorite destination for many of the world’s great artists. Domingo’s casting choices show a keen eye for the best talents in the world, including those who have not yet achieved widespread recognition. Even … Read more
Placido Domingo’s Sultan Bajazet [Photo: the sultan Bajazet (Placido Domingo, center) denounces the plans of his captor Tamerlano (Bejun Mehta, upper left); edited image, based on a Robert Millard photograph, courtesy of the Los Angeles Opera.] Placido Domingo’s 20th century career was built on a tenor repertory encompassing an amazing breadth of lyric, spinto and dramatic … Read more
This post follows: An Interview with San Francisco Opera’s David Gockley, Part 1. [Below: San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley; edited image, based on a photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.] Wm: You have had a long association with Francesca Zambello, and, in a difficult period, stepped in to assure that her conceptualization of … Read more
[A note from William: this website began its existence in November 2005, less than two months before David Gockley became the sixth General Director in the history of the San Francisco Opera. Over the past four years, I have reviewed each of the productions that has been presented in San Francisco during the “Gockley Era”. … Read more
Houston Grand Opera presented Wagner’s “Lohengrin” in a new production co-developed with the Grand Theatre de Geneve. The co-production premiered in the Swiss city in 2007. [Below: Patrick Summers, Music Director of Houston Grand Opera conducts his first “Lohengrin” series; edited image, based on a Terrence McCarthy photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.] The … Read more
Nicola Luisotti, in his first season as Music Director of the San Francisco Opera, has demonstrated command of both the Italian and non-Italian operatic repertory – in September with Verdi’s “Il Trovatore”, in October with Richard Strauss’ “Salome”. In November Luisotti brought forth his conceptualization of Verdi’s dramatic masterpiece, “Otello”. He assembled a cast of … Read more
Lyric Opera has done immeasurable service to the cause of Early Verdi by creating a stylish new production of the Maestro’s megahit of 1844, “Ernani”. In consonance with the beautiful sets was a matching musical performance led by the conducting of Renato Palumbo, with a lustrous cast of principals, whose performances further confirm my belief that … Read more
Observances of the sesquicentennial of Gounod’s “Faust” begin this year – the 150th anniversary of the first version of what proved to be a revolutionary opera. To this day more popular than any French opera that preceded it, its influence on both later French and Italian opera was profound. The only French opera that exceeds … Read more
As related in the first article in this series, the Los Angeles Opera is mounting three cycles of Wagner’s four opera “Ring of the Nibelungs” in May and June 2010. A year later the San Francisco Opera will present the “Ring” in an entirely different production, with a different conductor and an almost completely different … Read more
Performances of Richard Strauss’ “Salome”, which can still be made to look very wicked even a century and half a decade after its scandalous (and lucratively successful) first performances, can be memorable. Those with long memories of performances of this work at San Francisco Opera will recall some of the most exciting afternoons and evenings … Read more
Vive la France! Donizetti’s late period comic masterpiece, “La Fille du Regiment”, not heard at San Francisco Opera for 16 years, introduced the lively imagination of French producer Laurent Pelly to the War Memorial Opera House. [Photo: Marie (Diana Damrau) attends to the 21st Regiment’s laundry and ironing; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver … Read more
During the 65 years that spanned the first three general directorships of the San Francisco Opera, Mozart’s “Die Entführung aus dem Serail”, usually translated as “The Abduction from the Seraglio”, was never presented by the main company. Since 1990, it has been mounted in two productions in three separate seasons. The second of these is … Read more
Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” was the San Francisco Opera’s choice for the opening night of its 2009-2010 season. It met all of the criteria that any operatic management would hope its season opener would have – a gala cast, each member at the top of his or her form, performing a popular work in a distinguished … Read more
The Los Angeles Opera presented the third production of the Achim Freyer’s conceptualization of Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelungs”. Conducted by James Conlon and starring John Treleaven as Siegfried, Linda Watson as Bruennhilde and Vitalij Kowaljow as the Wanderer, it proved a musically strong performance. Continuing Freyer’s vivid imagery, it provided another opportunity to watch the … Read more
William: I had the opportunity in Santa Fe to conduct an interview with Elza van den Heever, at whose San Francisco Opera stage debut I was present in June 2007, and who was Santa Fe’s Donna Anna in this summer’s presentation of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. With virtually all artists I interview, we discuss various milestones … Read more
San Francisco Opera’s performance of Puccini’s “Trittico”, utilizing sets from the New York City Opera, continued with “Gianni Schicchi”, the third one act opera of the evening. The opera, like “Tabarro”, is only 50 minutes long. (“Suor Angelica lasts an hour.) But unlike the sombre “Tabarro” and woeful “Angelica”, “Gianni Schicchi” is a merry caprice, … Read more
San Francisco Opera’s “Trittico”, utilizing sets from the New York City Opera, continued with “Suor Angelica”, the second opera of the evening. “Suor Angelica” is the least performed of the Puccini operas written since the Tuscan Maestro hit his stride with “Manon Lescaut” in 1893. Debuted around the period of the Great War, it presented … Read more
San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley, on assuming his position at the beginning of 2006 stated that all of the operas of Puccini’s maturity would be seen at the San Francisco Opera in the next few seasons. Thus began a series of great Puccini performances, including Karita Mattila and Mischa Didyk in “Manon Lescaut” … Read more
