Mezzo-soprano Tichina Vaughn and baritone Marco Vratogna are scheduled to sing in Aida at San Francisco Opera in Fall of 2010. Luisotti will conduct, and one has heard rumors that Carlo Ventre and Eric Owens are also in the cast.
The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
44 responses to “Aida at SF Opera in 2010”
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So is next season Aida, Werther (why on Earth???), Le Nozze, Turandot, and the Makropoulos Case plus one more Puccini or Verdi work yet to be announced and the Ring replacing the summer offerings?
Except for the Ring and the Janacek, not much to be excited about unless the casts are really something. Then again I said that about this season and I was wrong.
Still, I’m not enthused about these choices at all.
Werther??? Let’s hope that turns out to be untrue.LikeLike
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We haven’t had Massenet in the last 6 years at least, so it is probably time. I’m confident about the Aida and Le Nozze, and I love both those operas, so I’m pleased.
I bet it will be either Turandot (because we haven’t had that in awhile either) or Butterfly next as far as Puccini. Makropoulos Case keeps being mentioned, but I’m only certain there will be something Czech next season.LikeLike
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where do you get that hunch from?
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You profess to LOVE Aida? I will no longer accept any scorn for my appreciation of Dvorak, Brahms and Elgar. 😉
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Eric Owens IS singing Aida, can’t speak for Ventre (God, I hope not.) I’ve also had BUTTERFLY confirmed, but without a date, and a further Verdi Opera in the pipeline with an exciting star, which I was sworn to secrecy.
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That should read, of course, Eric Owens is singing IN Aida.
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I always read that they plan these productions “years ahead” and singers are booked for years.
If they have the schedule, why don’t they release it? Do they have the contracts in place already? What can be changed?LikeLike
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Upstairs Tenor, thanks for the clarification. I was very confused for a moment.
I’ve never seen or heard Werther. Why is it so bad?LikeLike
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Scorn! What nonsense, just because Brahms makes me laugh doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your taste!
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A little bird told me!
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Ventre’s web site seemed to indicate he was in Aida, but now is going through a redesign.
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Schedules used to be kept more secret than they are now, if I understand correctly. I think the releasing of the schedule builds up a buzz, and they usually have a media event the day they officially release the news.
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The other reading didn’t occur to me, but it would be quite funny if it had.
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I have never heard this opera, but judging from other Massenet operas I have heard, it seems like it might be very pretty but also boring.
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So Werther is beautiful, emotional, but not intellectually challenging. There is a very good recording with Von Stade and Kraus which is worth checking out. With the right lyric mezzo and tenore di grazia, it can be heartbreaking. And if we’re going for a traditional rep piece, I’d rather see Werther again than the 457th semi-annual production of Boheme.
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If I may, I think there is a bit of animus against Massenet in artistic circles. I have heard many opera directors, conductors, composers take potshots at him while many lesser lights are spared. I do not know why. Maybe because he was the last super successful conventional musician before the twelve tones and discordant notes set in. Anyway, that animus does get filtered down and finds its away down to the comments on a blog.
Rest assured, Massenet is very good (Thais, Le Cid, Manon) and if appropriately staged can be very exciting.LikeLike
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I’ve never heard Werther, so I am excited we are getting something new as well.
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I too am looking forward to Werther because I’ve never seen it. I did see the Met HD broadcast of Thais and found it very pretty, only slightly boring (with some extended periods where I was riveted). I say, Bring on the show!
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My point re Werther is not to necessarily slam Massenet but to ask why not something more interesting when there is already an abundance of MOR, safe choices on the schedule? And yes, I would much rather see Moses and Aaron, Lulu or Wozzeck on the schedule than anything by Massenet. Ditto for works by Britten, Berlioz, and Saariaho. Butterfly again? I think we have had way more Butterlfies than Bohemians over the past few years and too many of both. I’d like to see an Edgar just once!
Upstairs Tenor- may we have a hint?LikeLike
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I have always found the anti-Massenet stuff hard to figure out. I’m not a musician, just a big ol’ lifelong opera fan, and I always feel like I am inviting scorn and invective if I express my enjoyment of Massenet (have seen Werther and LOVED it)without somehow also adding, “but I love Messiaen and Poulenc also!”
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I think you’ve answered your own question, we are getting Werther for R. Vargas, I imagine, since it is all about the singing.
Everything you’ve mentioned is not going to do well at the box office. They couldn’t even do well with Il Trittico, which had great reviews, a great cast, and is Puccini.LikeLike
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Oh no! Did they not do well with Il Trittico? The house was sold out the night that I attended.
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If a Trittico that fine cannot float, there’s not a lot of hope for say, Wozzeck (and who would sing Marie?).
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Good point re the box office, though SFO is a performing arts organization, not a movie studio. I’ll shut up now before someone from SFO reads this, cancels Makropoulos and replaces it with Carmen.
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I agree about too many Butterflies, but with Butterfly they pay a modicum of attention to the casting. It seems with Boheme they figure people will come whether the singers are audible or not. If nothing else, Werther is a bit of a change from endless Bohemes, Butterflies, and Traviatas, kind of like Pearl Fishers a few seasons ago.
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Hi OT…
This is so much fun….guess the Fall Season. I was bored at work the other day and was trying to figure out the season. I can’t believe we are in agreement with 5.
You & I are guessing:
Aida
Nozze
Makropolos
Werther
Turandot.
I was wondering if the would do two big Italian chorus opera in the same season….but they haven’t done Turandot in quite a few years and it will sell tickets.
My guess for the last of the 6 Fall operas is Elektra. Another opera not done in a while and relatively cheap (not that many singers) to produce.
I’ve heard the rumors of Werther for years….so it’s bound show up one of these years and next year is a good a time as any. I’ve heard though that they were interested in casting a baritone as Werther — but maybe they gave up on this idea. I heard Thomas Hampson’s name mentioned several times….but I am too out of the loop these days to have any good insider info.
Anybody heard who’s singing the Aida? This is the one popular opera I have never seen live. I told myself I won’t go unless they have a real Aida. Since I haven’t heard of an interesting soprano singing the role, I will probably pass on this one.
I wish they would do Russian opera. I would love to see Khovanshina (sp?)…the last time they did it, I was new to opera and passed on it.
Anyway….any other guesses or comments?LikeLike
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Sure. It’s not MACBETH.
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Not do well with Trittico? Almost every performance was packed. Only time I’ve ever seen that few empty seats was at Butterfly, Boheme and Bonesetter’s Daughter. Did they not break even financially, is that what you’re saying? Because Trittico is notoriously expensive.
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I think they did well, just not as well as they wanted to.
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Trittico was not the success that Trovatore was, and certainly wasn’t as crazy as some of the summer operas were.
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Very funny. I can’t imagine an SF Opera season with Moses and Aaron, Lulu, or Wozzeck in it anytime soon.
Take heart though, Ensemble Parallèle performing Wozzeck early next year: http://ensembleparallele.com/wozzeck.htmLikeLike
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Sure. It’s not I LOMBARDI.
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Whoops, forgot I replied to that comment already.
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From my perspective (naturally, I only see one floor of the building a night), I saw far more empty seats at Trovatore than I did at Trittico. But maybe my numbers are scewed.
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I would be totally happy to see Wozzeck, but they did do it relatively recently here. I just looked it up and it was 1999. The late Hildegard Behrens was Marie There are so many operas I wish they would do. Where is La Clemenza di Tito? That is an opera you can actually cast well these days. What about other Mozart operas besides the da Pontes, Abduction, The Magic Flute and Idomeneo? How about Lucio Sillo or Mitridate? Wo bleibt Elektra? Where is Les Troyens (ok, it’s expensive)? I want some slightly off the beaten path bel canto. In most major opera house they do things like Le Comte Ory, Lucrezia Borgia, La Sonnambula, I Capuleti e i Montecchi at least once in a blue moon. Where is Russian opera? Ok, we had Boris last year, but nothing else since Lotfi Mansouri’s days. Where is the early Verdi that Gockley has promised?
I want more more more!LikeLike
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Oooh, is the exciting star Sondra Radvanovsky?
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To me they seemed about the same, both pretty darn full but not like Traviata with Netrebko or Porgy. But as far as box office, Trovatore seems to have done the best out of the first three operas this season.
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I didn’t know about this company- I’ll definitely go see this! Thanks for letting us know about it.
The SFO Wozzeck in 1999 was fantastic. It was Alan Held’s first time performing the role.LikeLike
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We had a few Russian operas under Rosenberg, considering she was only here for 5 years: Queen of Spades, Eugene Onegin, Maid of Orleans, and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk.
I wish we were getting those other Mozart operas as well.LikeLike
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The person singing Wozzeck is very good, so I’m quite curious. Am planning on doing some sort of preview of the production next week.
I don’t think I saw a single opera in 1999!LikeLike
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Well, we have narrowed it down to 24?
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You are so right. I don’t know how I forgot all of those. They were all pretty good performances too, especially that Queen of Spades.
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Actually that makes sense, everyone says Mansouri did a lot of Russian operas. Sadly I wasn’t very interested in that repertoire at the time.
The ones I mentioned weren’t spread out evenly through Rosenberg’s tenure, if I remember correctly. I loved Eugene Onegin best of those, but I think I enjoyed all of them.LikeLike
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Well, I hate to be the first, but here goes.
AIDA: Sets awful, costumes laughable.
Conducting lackluster. Is Luisotti just not in his stride yet?
Tenor (Giordani), not bad considering he can’t reach the really high notes.
Aida (Carosi), good not exciting.
All the rest of the cast, good not exciting.
The only exception: Amonasro (Vratogna)
Cast will change in November, with, yes, Ventre.
Did anyone else brave opening night?LikeLike
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