The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: May 2010
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* Notes * Los Angeles Opera's Ring cycle continued with Die Walküre yesterday evening. The orchestra sounded fairly good under James Conlon, though at times they did play gingerly, carefully hitting each note. The cello solo in the beginning of Act I Scene 1 was lovely, but the brass did not sound clean for Hunding's Leitmotiv.…
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* Notes * Los Angeles Opera's first Ring cycle began with Das Rheingold last night. James Conlon had the orchestra sounding cohesive and supportive, though the musicians and singers were not always perfectly together. There were a few sour notes from the brass, but for the most part the playing was not bad. The voices of…
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* Notes * This week Michael Tilson Thomas conducted San Francisco Symphony in a program of Mozart, Holloway, and Schumann. The performance began with Mozart's "Bella mia fiamma…Resta, o cara" and Holloway's Clarissa Sequence, both of which featured the soprano Erin Wall. The Mozart showcased her pure, clear sound, and though Wall warbled a bit,…
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* Notes *The National played the second of two shows at the Fox Theater in Oakland yesterday as part of their current North American and European tour. Most of the songs performed were from their new album entitled High Violet. The lead singer, Matt Berninger, has a rather low baritone, and seems very shy. He…
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* Notes *Teatro ZinZanni did a benefit performance for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization last night in San Francisco. Held in a Jugendstil Spiegeltent from 1920 down on Pier 29, the evening began with a couple of songs from Jerry Hannan followed by a short film on Haiti. We heard the Teatro ZinZanni Orchestra throughout…
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* Notes * Michael Tilson Thomas conducted San Francisco Symphony in a program of Stravinsky, Bernstein, and Ravel last week. The performance was supposed to include Stravinsky's Threni, but EXAUDI, the vocal ensemble to be featured, was held up by issues with a group P-1 visa. Instead we heard Stravinsky's Ode and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. In the…
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* Notes * Tenor Eleazar Rodríguez's senior recital at San Francisco Conservatory of Music was last night. Accompanied by pianist Alexander Katsman, Rodríguez sang songs from Charles Gounod, Ottorino Respighi, Joaquin Turina, and Robert Schumann. The Gounod sounded very pretty, sweet, and bright. His voice is flexible and does not sound constricted at the top.…
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* Notes * Yesterday afternoon San Francisco Performances presented baritone Eugene Brancoveanu in a recital of Georgy Sviridov, Maurice Ravel, Henri Duparc, Franz Schubert, and Carl Loewe. The performance began with Sviridov's Russia cast adrift (1987), songs set to 12 episodic poems by Sergey Yesenin. Brancoveanu conveyed the range of emotions in the music and…
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The LA Times reports that tenor John Treleaven (Siegfried) and soprano Linda Watson (Brünnhilde) do not seem to enjoy Achim Freyer’s production of the Ring at Los Angeles Opera. The first cycle opens May 29th. LA Times | Ring Festival LA | LA Opera
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October 8 2010: Paula West, vocalist with the George Mesterhazy QuartetOctober 9 2010: Takács Quartet October 15 2010: 31st Season Gala October 16 2010: András Schiff, pianoOctober 17 2010: John Williams, guitar November 2 2010: Robert McDuffie, violin with Venice Baroque OrchestraNovember 10 2010: Measha Brueggergosman, soprano and Justus Zeyen, piano November 11 2010: Arnaldo Cohen…
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