The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: October 2011
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* Notes * Apollo's Fire, lead by harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell, performed in Berkeley yesterday afternoon as part of a North American tour with countertenor Philippe Jaroussky (pictured left). The Cleveland-based early music ensemble is aptly named, and the musicians certainly do play with fiery passion under Sorrell's direction. The intonation was imperfect, but it was heartening…
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* Notes * Händel’s Serse (Act I pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) opens this afternoon at San Francisco Opera, and I for one am quite sad not to attend. Instead I offer you a preview, based on attendance of rehearsals. Nicholas Hytner’s production, directed here by Michael Walling, originates from English National Opera and was…
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* Notes * Cal Performances presented Nicola Luisotti and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra (pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) in a performance of Beethoven on Friday evening. The musicians began with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The oboe was especially fine in the Allegro con brio, and the brass were lovely in the Andante con molto.…
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* Notes * San Francisco Performances' 2011-2012 recital series continued with baritone Simon Keenlyside (pictured left, photograph by Ben Ealovega) accompanied by pianist Malcolm Martineau last night. There were programs this time, and all the texts were provided. As it happened, the recital was so gripping that it was quite difficult to even look at…
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Jay Hunter Morris (pictured left in the title role of Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera, photograph by Ken Howard) will replace Gary Lehman as Siegfried in the Metropolitan Opera's new Götterdämmerung, which opens January 27, 2012. Lehman has withdrawn due to a viral infection. Morris himself has withdrawn from performances of Moby Dick at San…
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* Notes * Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel (pictured left, photograph courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association) returned for a second performance at San Francisco Symphony on Monday night. This program also began with a fanfare from John Adams, this time the more meditative Tromba lontana. The playing was fine, though perhaps a bit…
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Kendall Gladen and Anita Rachvelishvili will share the title role of Carmen with Kate Aldrich (pictured left), whose arrival is delayed by illness. Gladen sings November 6 and 9, Rachvelishvili sings from November 12 through 23, and Aldrich sings from November 26 through December 4. The role of Mercédès, originally scheduled to be sung by…
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* Notes * Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel (pictured left, photograph by Mathias Bothor courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon), marked the first of six visiting American orchestras to take residency at San Francisco Symphony with Sunday’s performance. The program began with Short Ride in a Fast Machine from John Adams. The piece does not pull…
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* Notes * The tenth season of the BluePrint project opened yesterday evening at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The concert started with John Harbison‘s North and South, with mezzo-soprano Julienne Walker. The New Music Ensemble sounded clear and together under the expert direction of Maestra Nicole Paiement (pictured left, photograph by Roger Steen).…
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* Notes * This week James Conlon conducts San Francisco Symphony in Verdi’s Requiem. Fabio Luisi was originally scheduled to take the podium, but took over most of James Levine’s fall engagements at the Met. Perhaps it is just as well, Maestro Conlon did a fine job with the work, the phrasing was lucid and taut.…
The Opera Tattler 