Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
The “standard repertory” of opera is dominated by works created by citizens of four European countries – Italy, Germany, Austria and France. Many of the singers, conductors, set designers and stage directors associated with opera production are themselves from those four countries, although if you look at the world supply of operatic performers, there would … Read more
In June 2008 Clifford (Kip) Cranna, Ph.D., San Francisco Opera’s Director of Music Administration, became the 35th person to be awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal, an honor created 38 years ago. It was the first medal to be awarded since 2005, and thus the first of General Director David Gockley’s tenure. (A few days … Read more
For months Opera Santa Barbara arranged a wonderful celebration of the 150th Birthday of the great Italian composer Giacomo Puccini in their gilded, opulent new operatic venue – The Granada Theatre. The celebration was to take place with superb wining, dining and Puccini’s great music, plus a very, very special guest – the composer’s granddaughter, … Read more
After 22 years presenting superb – often World-Class – opera in Orange County, Opera Pacific’s finale was a smashing production of Rossini’s beloved “Barber of Seville”, most ably presided over and conducted by Opera Pacific’s Artistic Director John DeMain. Tragically, the descent of the final curtain of “Barber’s” last performance proved to be the abrupt, … Read more
Bizet’s “Carmen”, presented in 1999 Emilio Sagi’s production designed for the Teatro Real of Madrid, was revived by the Los Angeles Opera in mid-November. December 6th introduced a second cast, with responsibility for three of the opera’s performances. The evening was the occasion for the Los Angeles debuts of three major artists. [Below: Don Jose … Read more
One might argue that the San Francisco Opera from its founding has been a house that seems dedicated to Puccini’s works, but that happens to do a great job of other parts of the operatic repertoire, as well. The outgoing musical director, Donald Runnicles, is associated with Wagnerian and contemporary opera, but also excelled with … Read more
The Lyric Opera of Chicago mounted a new production of Alban Berg’s “Lulu”, under the direction of Paul Curran. Last season the Scottish Director developed Lyric Opera’s production of Richard Strauss’ “Die Frau ohne Schatten” and has established himself as an advocate for Benjamin Britten’s operas in the United States at the Santa Fe and Central City … Read more
The middle of the 20th century was an exciting time for those curious about the Italian bel canto operatic masterpieces of Gaetano Donizetti. First Maria Callas and then Leyla Gencer, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballe and Beverly Sills used their stardom to advance the cause of Donizetti’s dramatic operas. I myself saw Caballe as Elisabetta in … Read more
Chicago’s civic pride in the ascension of a hometown African-American family to the world stage has created intense interest in the most famous opera about an African-American community. Two weeks after President-Elect Barack Obama’s victory celebration at Chicago’s Grant Park, the Lyric Opera added Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” to its performance history. The community interest … Read more
Until the late 1960s, San Francisco Opera paid scant attention to Donizetti’s great romantic comic opera, “L’Elisir d’Amore”, having had only three performances of the opera in San Francisco in the first 44 seasons of the company’s history. (If this seems incredible for an international house led for its first 30 years by an Italian-born … Read more
San Francisco Opera, as part of its efforts to increase interest in live operatic performance among younger audiences, has developed the “family matinee”, which takes place at the opera house, utilizing the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus and the production sets from one of the main season operas. This year’s family matinee is Donizetti’s … Read more
This is the third post in an ongoing quest for productions of the operas of Gaetano Donizetti that has taken me to Donizetti’s home town of Bergamo in Lombardy for background, and, for performances, to Paris (for Laurent Pelly’s production of “L’Elixir d’Amour”) to Zurich (for “Don Pasquale”), to Houston (for “Fille du Regiment”), to … Read more
As a vehicle for veteran basso Samuel Ramey, San Francisco Opera mounted a production closely associated with him – the seven scene 1869 version of Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov”. Ramey was supported by memorable performances by the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, conducted by Vassily Sinaisky, in his debut season with the opera company, and the San … Read more
Note from William: I recently traveled to Pittsburgh for opening night of the 2008-09 Pittsburgh Opera season, featuring the role debut of Stephanie Blythe in Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila”. This provided an opportunity to interview the newly appointed general director of the Pittsburgh Opera, Christopher Hahn. [Below: Christopher Hahn, photograph courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera.] Wm: … Read more
By tradition and for practical reasons, persons who review opera performances usually attend the first performance in a season of a given opera, although persons reviewing performances at several companies often must attend a second or later performance at one company to be able to accommodate to the schedule of another. Almost every company is … Read more
For opening night of the Pittsburgh Opera’s 2008-09 season, Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila” was performed in a “refurbished” production that saw the role debuts of tenor Frank Porretta as Samson and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe as Dalila. It was also the occasion for the stage debut of baritone Kim Josephson (who had sung the role in … Read more
For Lyric Opera’s 1997-98 season Nicolas Joel created a production of Bizet’s “Les Pecheurs de Perles” in which Paul Groves and Gino Quilico played the male lead roles, with sets created by Hubert Monloup. Eleven seasons later, the Joel production was revived, with extensive revisions. Scott Marr of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center created new sets … Read more
Lyric Opera’s 2008-09 season commenced with Massenet’s “Manon” in the fascinating David McVicar production, originally designed for English National Opera in London and subsequently shown in Barcelona, Auckland, Liege, Houston and Dallas. McVicar, who sticks to the story and time period of most operas he assays, famously delves into the sexual conduct at least implied … Read more
Conductor Donald Runnicles again showed that the San Francisco Opera has the ability to produce challenging repertory, leading the effort to bring the 2004 co-production (from the Salzburg and Vienna opera companies) of Korngold’s “Die Tote Stadt” to the Bay Area. It proved to be unambiguosly a personal triumph for Runnicles, who leaves his post … Read more
Tom’s Notes on the Santa Fe Season, Part II Tom’s Notes Part I contains my comments on Santa Fe Opera’s 2008 presentation of Verdi’s “Falstaff”, and Bob and Annie’s thoughts on the contemporary opera, “Adriana Mater”. William previously posted reviews on the company’s productions of Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” and Britten’s “Billy Budd” (to which Tom’s … Read more
Tom’s Notes on the Santa Fe Season Part I Your website host William and I share the pleasure of reviewing this summer’s Santa Fe Opera Summer Festival Season. My 2008 Santa Fe season started with a spectacular backdrop for the stage. Even for Santa Fe, the iridescent-red sunset for the August 18 performance of Mozart’s … Read more
Los Angeles Opera in 2004 unveiled Robert Wilson’s concept production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”, incorporating the ideas from a previous Wilson “Butterfly” created a decade earlier for Opera National de Paris. In the subsequent L. A. season, Wilson’s thoughts on Wagner’s “Parsifal” introduced in Hamburg in the early 1990’s were the basis for another new Los Angeles Opera … Read more
San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley assumed the leadership of the Bay Area’s operatic powerhouse at the beginning of 2006, and has done a creditable job of changing the direction of the company that had seemed to have disconnected itself from its traditional standards of excellence and from the interests and desires of its audiences. Scrapping some … Read more
San Francisco Opera has demonstrated that a great opera company can present the mainstream treasures of the operatic repertory respectfully, yet simultaneously expand the boundaries of the operatic medium. One year after the extraordinary world premiere of Philip Glass’ “Appomattox” in San Francisco, the company achieved an even greater success with the world premiere of … Read more
Hollywood Does Los Angeles Opera – Part IV Those who listen to the orchestral suites of Canadian Howard Shore’s soundtrack music culled from such cinema masterpieces as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy or Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator will recognize an immensely talented composer of luscious music. His invitation to compose an opera commissioned by the Los … Read more