The Opera Tattler

* Notes *
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra played an all-Mendelssohn program in honor of his 200th birthday last week. The playing was quite clean and détaché, which was fine for the Three Motets, Op. 39, but was perhaps less appropriate for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21 & 61. The evening began with The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave), Op. 26, which is melancholic and very pretty. Next they cheerfully played the popular third movement Scherzo from the Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20. The Three Motets before the intermission were strongest, Nicolas McGegan’s orchestration worked well, and the Baroque style of the group played nicely to this particular form. The San Francisco Girls Chorus sang beautifully, again with a very clean sound, almost angelic. In the second half, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21 & 61 involved a narrator who did not memorize his lines and overacted quite a bit. However, the singing was just lovely.

* Tattling * 
The audience was fairly well-behaved, though there was some talking, it was minimal.