The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Month: December 2010

  • Seattle Opera’s 2011-2012 Season

    July 30- August 20 2011: Porgy and BessOctober 15-29 2011: CarmenJanuary 14-28 2012: AttilaFebruary 25- March 10 2012: Orpheus and EurydiceMay 5-19 2012: Madama Butterfly There are five operas scheduled for next season at Seattle Opera and again we have 3 conductors returning and 2 debuts. John DeMain conducts Gershwin, Carlo Montanaro conducts Verdi, and Gary…

  • SF Opera’s Director of Production

    Greg Weber was just appointed Director of Production at San Francisco Opera and starts on February 1, 2011. Mr. Weber left his post as managing director of the Geva Theatre Center last July. He succeeds Drew Landmesser, who is returning to Lyric Opera of Chicago. Press Release | San Francisco Opera

  • La Fanciulla del West at the Met

    Metropolitan Opera‘s current production of La Fanciulla del Westmarks the 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere. The Unbiased Opinionator attended the performance last Tuesday. * Notes * The genesis of the La Fanciulla del Westis well known. Puccini, in New York to supervise the Met premiere of Madama Butterfly, saw David Belasco’s play The Girl…

  • Nicola Luisotti Interview

    Maestro Nicola Luisotti (pictured with San Francisco Opera‘s General Director David Gockley and President of the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano Paolo Spadaccini; photograph by Cory Weaver) is currently conducting the centennial performances of La Fanciulla del West at the Met, including the upcoming HD simulcast on January 8th. He has been met with success in New…

  • Nicolas Hodges at Cal Performances

    * Notes * The pianist Nicolas Hodges paired Stockhausen and Beethoven for a recital at Cal Performances this afternoon. Hodges made Stockhausen's Klavierstück X oddly compelling for a piece played with wrists, forearms, and elbows. He was able to get quite a lot of sound out of the piano, and emphasize the percussive nature of the…

  • Sacramento Opera Cancels 2010-2011 Season

    Sacramento Opera has canceled the rest of their 2010-2011 season after poor ticket sales of Orlando. Sacramento Press | Official Site

  • Messiah at PBO

    * Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's latest offering of Händel's Messiah was very jolly. Nicholas McGegan conducted the third of four concerts last Sunday in Berkeley in his usual chipper way. The orchestra was together and in tune, as was the chorus. The soloists included soprano Mary Wilson, countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor John McVeigh, and bass…

  • SF Opera Survey 2010

    This year's subscriber survey from San Francisco Opera was a little bit boring, so here are the funniest ones, with answers from the Opera Tattler filled in, of course. To be perfectly honest, I should have checked all of the boxes for question 6, but somehow that did not seem helpful, so I picked ones that I…

  • Creative Consultant of Lyric Opera

    Soprano Renée Fleming has been named the first Creative Consultant of Lyric Opera of Chicago. Press Release | Renée Fleming's Official Site

  • Elza van den Heever at SF Performances

    Whilst the Opera Tattler attended the sold-out performance of Takács Quartet in Berkeley last Sunday, the Last Chinese Unicorn was over in San Francisco for Elza van den Heever's recital presented by San Francisco Performances. * Notes * My biggest complaint today when it comes to opera singers is that nobody is willing to take risks anymore.…