The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: June 2011
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* Notes * Cycle 3’s Die Walküre (Act II, Scene 1 pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) at San Francisco Opera was performed yesterday with Heidi Melton debuting the role of Sieglinde. Melton has a warmth to her voice, but also conveys the fragility of the character. She did sound a bit rough early on in…
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* Notes * The third and final Ring cycle of the season at San Francisco Opera started with Das Rheingold (Brandon Jovanovich, Elizabeth Bishop, Melissa Citro, and Gerd Grochoski in Scene 4 pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) last Tuesday. Maestro Runnicles had the orchestra sounding noticeably cleaner this time around, especially the brass. The…
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Production Web Site | SF Opera's Ring Blog | Cycle 1 Reviews Pictured left is Act III, Scene 2 of San Francisco Opera's Götterdämmerung with Ian Storey (Siegfried), Gerd Grochowski (Gunther), Andrea Silvestrelli (Hagen), members of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, and supernumeraries by Cory Weaver. Cycle 3 starts this week, and below are selected…
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Soprano Heidi Melton (pictured left, photograph by Kristin Hoebermann) sings Third Norn in Götterdämmerung and Sieglinde in Cycle Three's Die Walküre this summer at San Francisco Opera. She sings Third Norn in the Met's upcoming Ring cycle next year. The Opera Tattler caught up with Melton at the War Memorial before rehearsal a few weeks…
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* Notes * Cycle 2 of Der Ring des Nibelungen at San Francisco Opera concluded with Götterdämmerung (final scene of Act III pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) today. The orchestra was in fine form under Donald Runnicles. The bass clarinet, harp, and trumpet sounded especially wonderful. The chorus did well, and the male chorus sounded…
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* Notes *This year's Auditions for the General Director of San Francisco Opera were this evening, featuring the participants of the Merola Opera Program. The quality of singing was consistent and very nice. We heard quite a few arias in English and Russian. Mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, bass Peixin Chen, soprano Elizabeth Zharoff, bass-baritone Philippe Sly, soprano…
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* Notes * San Francisco Opera‘s second Ring cycle continued with Siegfried (Act II, Scene 3 pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) on Friday. The orchestra played clearly. The sound of the off-stage horn in Act II, Scene 2 was clean and pleasant. The music for Siegfried passing through the magic fire at the end of…
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* Notes * This week San Francisco Symphony and Chorus have been performing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas kept the musicians synchronized. The orchestra was often rather loud, but the playing was clean. Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik’s the violin solo in the Sanctus was beautiful. The brass was warm and pretty. The chorus was impressive,…
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The 25 new Merolini were interviewed by San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald, Merola Opera Board of Directors Chairman Jayne Davis, and President Patrick Wilken yesterday evening, in the Green Room of the War Memorial Veterans Building. This year three of the participants are Canadian, three are Iowan, and three are Chinese. We learned…
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* Notes * The second cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen at San Francisco Opera continued Wednesday night with Die Walküre (Act I pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver). The orchestra sounded cleaner than last week. Donald Runnicles seems to be leading an understated, subtle rendering, which is rather beautiful. The strings played especially well, the…
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