The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Month: February 2010

  • Don Giovanni at Berkeley Opera

    * Notes *Berkeley Opera's inaugural production at El Cerrito Performing Arts Theatre, Don Giovanni, is a great success. The new venue features an actual orchestra pit, a balcony, and 450 seats compared to the 328-seat Julia Morgan, where Berkeley Opera performed for the last 12 years. The second performance last night looked quite full, and…

  • Blomstedt conducts Mozart’s Linz

    * Notes * Last night Herbert Blomstedt conducted Mozart's Symphony No. 36 and Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 at San Francisco Symphony. The former sounded rather jolly, the dynamics were clear and the tempi restrained. The oboe sounded particularly good in the first and third movements. The brass was hazy in the second movement, but the following…

  • Chailly conducts Beethoven’s 7

    * Notes * Last Monday Riccardo Chailly lead Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in a program of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and Symphony No. 7 at Davies Hall in San Francisco. The pianist was Louis Lortie, whose playing is precise and music box-like. One almost felt that he was some sort of mechanized toy that was carefully wound…

  • The Met’s 2010-2011 Season

    September 27 2010- April 2 2011: Das Rheingold September 28- October 19 2010: Les Contes d'Hoffmann September 29 2010- May 12 2011: Rigoletto October 11 2010- March 17 2011: Boris Godunov October 16 2010- February 25 2011: La Bohème October 26 2010- April 30 2011: Il Trovatore October 29 2010- February 19 2011: Don Pasquale…

  • Nabucco at San Diego Opera

    * Notes *The opening of Nabucco this season at San Diego Opera was last night. The production was directed by Lofti Mansouri, the former General Director in San Francisco, and was as expected, nothing wild or crazy or new. Micahel Yeargan's set stayed essentially the same throughout the performance, though the backdrops were switched out…

  • Opera San José’s 2010-2011 Season

    September 11-26 2010: Anna KareninaNovember 13-28 2010: ToscaFebruary 12-27 2011: Il Barbiere di SivigliaApril 23- May 8 2011: La Bohème Season Announcement | Official Site

  • Agrippina at Unter den Linden

    * Notes *The final performance this season of Agrippina at Staatsoper Unter den Linden was last Sunday. Vincent Boussard's production was Regietheater at its silliest, involving layers of iridescent beaded curtains, bowler hats, umbrellas, and a pair of giant beach balls filled with helium. Guido Levi's lighting did look wonderful with all the beads and…

  • Le Nozze di Figaro at Unter den Linden

    * Notes *The Saturday performance of Le Nozze di Figaro at Staatsoper Unter den Linden was utterly delightful. The production was simple, but cunning, and the scene changes happened fluidly. Herbert Kapplmüller's set was descriptive without being too elaborate, and Yoshi'o Yabara's costumes were in keeping with it. The orchestra sounded pleasant under Frank Beermann,…

  • Les Arts Florissants’ 2nd Performance of Giulio Cesare

    * Notes *The second performance of Giulio Cesare at Salle Pleyel came together better than the first. Les Arts Florissants sounded more cohesive. The concertmaster did not break any strings this time, and her intonation was more accurate, but her playing for "Se in fiorito ameno prato" was still screechy and not beautiful. The horn…

  • Standing Room Adventures in Paris

    * Notes *Standing room at Opéra national de Paris is a fairly organized affair. I arrived at Opéra Bastille at around 4:30pm, asked where the standing room line was from the person at the information counter by the box office, and was directed to the main door. Outside near the gift shop door were four…