The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: April 2012
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* Notes * The second Ring cycle this season at the Met continued with a matinée of Die Walküre (Act II, Scene 1 pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) yesterday. The limitations of "The Machine" became more apparent in this opera. Robert Lepage's direction is restricted by how the set moves and where people can…
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* Notes * A revival of Elijah Moshinsky's 1996 The Makropulos Case opened last night in New York. The performance marked the Met role debut of Karita Mattila (pictured left in Act III, photograph by Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera) as Emilia Marty. Mattila is somehow completely convincing as Marty, her voice is otherworldly and icily perfect.…
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* Notes * A second Ring cycle began with Das Rheingold (Scene 4 pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) last night at the Met. Robert Lepage’s production involves a series of about 24 jointed panels that can be arranged in many different configurations. Known as “The Machine,” Carl Fillion’s set is not unlike a huge…
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* Notes * San Francisco Performances presented baritone Matthias Goerne (pictured left, photograph by Marco Borggreve) in recital with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes on Monday. The performance focused on six Shostakovich songs from Suite on Verses of Michelangelo. These were interspersed selections from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Rückert Lieder, and Kindertotenlieder. Goerne’s voice is unreal,…
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* Notes * Faust (Act II with Michael Dailey and Jouvanca Jean-Baptiste, photograph by P. Kirk) opened at Opera San José last night. The ambitious performance had some lovely points, but was, on the whole, rather scattershot. The orchestra, lead by David Rohrbaugh, sounded slightly lax. The overture was drawn out so that we could…
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* Notes * Cleveland Orchestra (pictured left at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in 2008, photograph by Roger Mastroianni) played a second concert at San Francisco Symphony on Monday night. The program, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, began with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. The soloist, Nikolaj Znaider, showed a predilection for strong contrasts. One of…
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* Notes * Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst (pictured left, photograph by Roger Mastroianni), played the first of a two night residency at San Francisco Symphony yesterday. The performance started with Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3, Scottish. The quiet parts were restrained and tasteful, the louder parts appropriately ponderous. The musicians played rather smoothly. After the…
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* Notes * Love/Hate, a chamber opera by composer Jack Perla and librettist Rob Bailis, premiered to a sold-out ODC Theater on Thursday night. The collaboration between ODC Theater, American Opera Projects, and Music Without Walls features the San Francisco Opera Center's Adler Fellows singing, playing, and even conducting. The piece calls for only four…
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* Notes *Radiohead played a show at the HP Pavilion in San Jose on Wednesday, before heading south to Santa Barbara and Coachella. Though half of a dozen of the songs played were from The King of Limbs, the show featured works from nearly all of Radiohead's albums. The visual aspect of the performance was…
The Opera Tattler 