The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Month: June 2011

  • Final Dress of SF Opera’s Walküre

    * Notes * If yesterday’s final dress rehearsal of San Francisco Opera‘s Die Walküre (Mark Delavan and Nina Stemme pictured left; photo from the 2010 production by Cory Weaver) is any indication, the cast is disconcertingly strong. Given how gorgeous last year’s Walküre was, the promise of an even better run now is remarkable. *…

  • Final Dress of SF Opera’s Das Rheingold

    * Notes * The final dress rehearsal of San Francisco Opera‘s Das Rheingold (Mark Delavan, Jennifer Larmore, Tamara Wapinsky, Charles Taylor, and Jason Collins pictured left; photo from the 2008 production by Terrence McCarthy) was yesterday. Nearly 70% of the cast has changed from the opening San Francisco performances of this production three years ago,…

  • Brandon Jovanovich Interview

    This month tenor Brandon Jovanovich (pictured left, photograph by Peter Dressel) has role debuts of Froh and Siegmund in San Francisco Opera‘s Der Ring des Nibelungen. In August, Jovanovich sings Věc Makropulos at the Salzburg Festival. Next season he performs in Cologne, Munich, Chicago, Berlin, Houston, and Washington, DC. The Opera Tattler spoke to Jovanovich…

  • Domingo and FIFA

    FIFA president Sepp Blatter has asked Plácido Domingo to be part of a solutions committee for soccer's world governing body. Reuters | ESPN | FIFA

  • SF Opera’s Götterdämmerung Media Round-Up

    Production Web Site | SF Opera’s Ring Blog Here we have a photograph from Cory Weaver of the Act III, Scene 3 of San Francisco Opera’s Götterdämmerung with Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde), Stacey Tappan (Woglinde), Renee Tatum (Flosshilde), Lauren McNeese (Wellgunde), Melissa Citro (Gutrune), and Ian Storey (Siegfried). Sunday’s performance was impressive, and one looks forward…

  • Costa at PBO

    Michael Costa (pictured left) has been named General Manager of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Costa was previously the Director of Finance and Administration of PBO. Biography | PBO's Official Site | PBO's Blog

  • Götterdämmerung at SF Opera

    * Notes * Today’s premiere of Götterdämmerung (Act II pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) at San Francisco Opera was arresting. Maestro Donald Runnicles had the orchestra sounding vivid and beautiful. There were bad notes and cloudiness here and there in the brass, but nonetheless it hardly mattered. The woodwinds were evocative, the strings shimmering. The…

  • Final Dress of SF Opera’s Götterdämmerung

    * Notes * The final dress rehearsal of San Francisco Opera‘s Götterdämmerung (Heidi Melton, Daveda Karanas, and Ronnita Miller pictured left; photo by Cory Weaver) was last Thursday. According to Miss LCU, there was still a great deal of chaos as far as the staging is concerned, but parts were quite strong. Much of the…

  • An Evening of English Music at St. John’s

    * Notes * Clarinetist Brenden Guy organized an evening of English music at St. John's Church in San Francisco yesterday. The performance started with some rather cute, pastoral music from Gerald Finzi and Arnold Cooke. Guy and Yeo Jin Seol played Finzi's Five Bagetelles for clarinet and piano. Arnold Cooke's Three Songs of Innocence were…

  • Chora Nova performs Vivaldi, Galuppi, Pergolese

    * Notes * Berkeley's Chora Nova ended the 2010-2011 season with a performance of psalm settings from the Italian Baroque last Saturday. The evening began with Pergolese's Confitebor tibi and Galuppi's Nisi Dominus. The both pieces were played and sung at a pretty mezzo-forte under the direction of Paul Flight (pictured left). The two sopranos…