The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Month: October 2011

  • Casting Change for The Met’s Siegfried

    Jay Hunter Morris (pictured left, photograph by Ron Rinaldi) will replace Gary Lehman in the title role of Metropolitan Opera’s new Siegfried, which opens October 27. Lehman has withdrawn due to illness. The Met’s Press Releases | The Met’s Official Site

  • SF Opera’s Don Giovanni Media Round-Up

    Production Web Site | SF Opera's Blog Reviews of San Francisco Opera's Don Giovanni (Act I pictured left with Ryan Kuster as Masetto, Kate Lindsey as Zerlina, and members of the San Francisco Opera Chorus; photograph by Cory Weaver) are slowly trickling in. Performance Reviews: MusicalCriticism.com | Not For Fun Only | San Francisco Chronicle…

  • SF Opera’s Don Giovanni

    * Notes * The latest run of Don Giovanni opened last night at San Francisco Opera. The new production, directed by Gabriele Lavia, is fairly simple. Much of the singing takes place under the proscenium, which is great for hearing the arias, but not particularly dynamic. Half of the characters were able to find an impressive…

  • Conlon conducts SFS in Shostakovich & Mussorgsky

    * Notes * This weekend James Conlon (pictured left, photograph courtesy of the Ravinia Festival) conducts San Francisco Symphony in Shostokovich's Symphony No. 14 and the Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Before the soprano and baritone took the stage on Friday evening, Conlon spoke about the two pieces in turn, noting that the…

  • Stephanie Blythe at SF Performances

     * Notes * San Francisco Performances featured mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe (pictured left, photograph by Kobie van Rensburg) in a charming recital last night. Somehow the programs for the performance went missing, and we were given photocopies of the most relevant pages. As it turned out, Blythe had not provided the texts in program, and she explained…

  • Barenboim named Music Director of La Scala

    Daniel Barenboim has been named Music Director of La Scala, effective December 1, 2011. His contract is for 5 years. Barenboim is already the General Music Director of Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Reuters | Official Site

  • Andreas Scholl at Walt Disney Concert Hall

    * Notes * The English Concert, lead by Harry Bicket, played at Walt Disney Concert Hall last night as part of a tour that goes on to Chicago, Boston, Toronto, and New York. The program consisted of entirely Baroque music and started with Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Sonata No. 6 for trumpet, strings, and continuo. The…

  • Don Giovanni Cast Changes (SF/NY)

    Shawn Mathey will replace Topi Lehtipuu as Don Ottavio in San Francisco Opera's new production of Don Giovanni, opening this Saturday. Lehtipuu has withdrawn due to illness. Shawn Mathey makes his San Francisco Opera debut with these performances. In other Don Giovanni news, Peter Mattei replaces Mariusz Kwiecien in the first three performances of Met's…

  • Merola Reception for Exective Director and Presidents

    On Thursday evening the Merola Opera Program held a reception honored Executive Director Jean Kellogg, outgoing President Patrick Wilken, and incoming President Donna Blacker. Wilken was given a proclamation from San Francisco's City Hall. Kellogg and Blacker took office at the beginning of the month. Press Release | Official Site

  • MTT conducts Mozart, Adès, and Stravinsky

    * Notes * This week San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas performs a program of Mozart, Adès (pictured left, photograph by Maurice Foxall), and Stravinsky. Saturday's performance began with Mozart's Symphony No. 35 in D major, K.385, Haffner, which was played with much volume and heft. The tempi were not particularly distinctive, and the Menuetto…