The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Month: April 2013

  • Merola’s 56th Season Participants

    SopranosLinda Barnett, Greeneville, TennesseeAviva Fortunata, Calgary, Alberta, CanadaAlisa Jordheim, Appleton, WisconsinJacqueline Piccolino, Palatine, IllinoisMaria Valdes, Atlanta, Georgia Mezzo-SopranosKate Allen, Dublin, IrelandRihab Chaieb, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaDaryl Freedman, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaKatie Hannigan, Newburgh, New YorkZanda Švēde, Valmiera, Latvia TenorsCasey Finnigan, Austin, TexasMatthew Newlin, Georgetown, IllinoisPene Pati, Mangere, Auckland, New ZealandIssachah Savage, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaRobert Watson, Kansas City, Missouri Baritones…

  • Opera Parallèle’s Trouble in Tahiti

    * Notes *This weekend, Opera Parallèle is performing Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti (Lisa Chavez and Eugene Brancoveanu pictured right; photograph by Steve DiBartolomeo) at Z Space in San Francisco. The performances open with Samuel Barber’s ten-minute Hand of Bridge and simply flow into the Bernstein. Director Brian Staufenbiel‘s production makes the most of limited…

  • Eschenbach conducts Wagner & Dvořák

    * Notes * This week Christoph Eschenbach (pictured left, photograph by Eric Brissaud) conducts San Francisco Symphony in performances of Wagner and Dvořák. The two Wagner pieces included “Die Frist is um” from Der Fliegenden Holländer and Wotans Abschied from Die Walküre, with baritone Matthias Goerne as soloist. Goerne sounded characteristically legato. He was drowned out…

  • David et Jonathas at BAM

    * Notes * William Christie and Les Arts Florissants are currently performing Charpentier’s David et Jonathas at BAM. The production is from Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and is directed by Andreas Homoki of Opernhaus Zürich. The set consists of wooden walls that can shift and move along two Cartesian axes. The blond wood used for walls and furniture…

  • Giulio Cesare at The Met

    * Notes *David McVicar’s production of Giulio Cesare (Act III pictured left, photograph by Marty Sohl) had a fourth performance at the Metropolitan Opera last night. Having attended no less than six performances of the Met’s previous production, it was nice to see that McVicar’s offering is much less staid. The shifts in costumes must…

  • Opera San José’s Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi

    * Notes * A double-bill of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi (pictured left, photograph by P. Kirk) closes the 2012-2013 season at Opera San José. Charlie Smith’s cunning set is used for both operas, but somehow the space seems completely transformed for each. The costumes, from Elizabeth Poindexter, look completely appropriate. Lorna Haywood’s production is…

  • Händel’s Teseo at PBO

    * Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is currently performing Händel’s Teseo in the Bay Area. The opera certainly has some very silly moments, and this semi-staged version simply embraced the absurdity. The orchestra is set up around the two harpsichords, with Maestro Nicholas McGegan at one and Hanneke van Proosdij at the other. As a result,…

  • PBO’s 2013-2014 Season

    October 2-6 2013: Pergolesi's Stabat MaterNovember 15-19 2013: Berezovsky, Facius, Fomin, Glinka December 6-10 2013: Stanley, Croft, Boyce December 14-15 2013: Händel's Messiah February 5-9 2014: C.P.E. Bach, Haydn March 5-9 2013: Muffat, Schmelzer, Schein, Biber, Benda, Bach, Telemann April 10-14 2013: Vivaldi's Juditha Triumphans Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's 2013-2014 season was announced on today. Carolyn…

  • Casting Change for the Met’s Giulio Cesare

    According to a press release, Natalie Dessay (pictured left, photograph by Marty Sohl) was ill for the second performance of the Met’s Giulio Cesare. Danielle de Niese sang the role of Cleopatra instead.  Production Web Site for Giulio Cesare | Casting Changes