The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Month: June 2013

  • Auditions for the General Director 2013

    * Notes *The Auditions for the General Director of San Francisco Opera occurred last night after the matinée performance of Les Contes d'Hoffmann. The twenty-three singers in the Merola Opera Program performed, each accompanied by one of five apprentice coaches. There were some interesting tenors and mezzo-sopranos. The baritones, though all very loud and competent,…

  • SF Opera’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene Media Round-Up

    Production Web Site | SF Opera's Blog The reviews of San Francisco Opera's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Act II pictured left with William Burden as Peter and Sasha Cooke as Mary Magdalene, photograph by Cory Weaver) are varied, but mostly fair to middling. Performance Reviews: Civic Center | Los Angeles Times | New York…

  • The Gospel of Mary Magdalene World Premiere

    * Notes * The world premiere performance of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Nathan Gunn as Yeshua and Sasha Cooke as Mary Magdalene in Act I pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) was held yesterday at San Francisco Opera. The overture had a interesting convoluted quality to it, and in general the orchestra, conducted…

  • Next General Director of Seattle Opera

    Aidan Lang (pictured left) has been named Seattle Opera‘s third General Director effective September 1, 2014. He will replace Speight Jenkins, who became General Director in 1983. Beginning immediately, Lang will be included in planning for the 2015-2016 season, working towards his first fully programmed season in 2016-2017. Seattle Opera’s Official Site | Press Releases

  • SF Opera’s Così Fan Tutte Media Round-Up

    Production Web Site | SF Opera's Blog So far, the reviews of San Francisco Opera's Così fan tutte (Act I pictured left with Philippe Sly as Guglielmo, Christel Lötzsch as Dorabella, Ellie Dehn as Fiordiligi, and Francesco Demuro as Ferrando, photograph by Cory Weaver) are mixed. Performance Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco Classical…

  • Cherubini’s Médée Recovered

    Physicists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford have uncovered the lost notes of "Du trouble affreux qui me dévore" (pictured left, photograph courtesy of Uwe Bergmann / SLAC) from Cherubini's Médée. X-ray Science at SLAC | Stanford News

  • SF Opera’s Così Fan Tutte

    * Notes * A revival of Così fan tutte (Act II Scene 2 pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened yesterday at San Francisco Opera. The orchestra sounded fairly loud and fast under the baton of Nicola Luisotti, and often ran ahead of the singers. There were times when the musical lines became muddled, as the…

  • Meet the Merolini 2013

    The 28 of the 29 incoming Merolini (pictured left, photograph by Scott Grieder) were interviewed by San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald, Merola Opera Board of Directors Chairman Jayne Davis, and President Donna L. Blacker yesterday evening, in the Nourse Theater. This year four of the participants are Canadian and two are Iowan. We…

  • SF Opera’s Tales of Hoffmann Media Round-Up

    Production Web Site | SF Opera's Blog The reviewers of San Francisco Opera's The Tales of Hoffmann (Act V pictured left with Matthew Polenzani as Hoffmann and Jacqueline Piccolino as Stella, photograph by Cory Weaver) agree that this is a production worth hearing and seeing. Performance Reviews: Not for Fun Only | San Francisco Chronicle…

  • SF Opera’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann

    * Notes * A new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Hye Jung Lee as Olympia and Thomas Glenn as Spalanzani with the San Francisco Opera Chorus in Act II pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened at San Francisco Opera last night. Maestro Patrick Fournillier lead a lively orchestra. The brass sounded particularly good in the…