The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: August 2015
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More cast changes for San Francisco Opera's upcoming season have been announced, both for the opening weekend performances. Bass-baritone Daniel Sumegi (pictured left) is singing the role of Count Walter in Luisa Miller, replacing Rafał Siwek. Instead of John Easterlin, tenor David Curry will make his Company debut in the role of Adolfo Pirelli in…
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Bass-baritone Philippe Sly, who was to perform the Papageno in The Magic Flute at San Francisco Opera, has withdrawn from the production because of "personal family reasons." Baritone Efraín Solís (pictured left) replaces him. The Magic Flute | San Francisco Opera Press Release
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*Notes* As another The Merola Grand Finale (pictured left, photograph by Kristen Loken) marked the end of the San Francisco Opera Center's training program this year last night. This is a chance to hear everyone after weeks of work and to speculate on who might be chosen to come back to be part of San Francisco…
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Cecilia Giméneza's botched restoration of Ecce Homo in Bruja, Spain is to be the subject of an opera premiering in Boulder, CO next year. Official Site | Facebook
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* Notes * American Bach Soloists gave the North American premiere of Marais' Sémélé last night in San Francisco. The music is exquisite and Jeffrey Thomas conducted a precise performance. The chorus was strong and the soloists were evenly matched. Ever consistent, Maestro Thomas led a clean sounding orchestra. Even the trumpet was more or…
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* Notes * Don Pasquale was performed by the Merola Opera Program at Cowell Theater recently. Warren Jones conducted a swift and lively performance on Saturday afternoon. The production from Nic Muni was entertaining but not entirely coherent. Muni's direction involved the action taking place on a film set, complete with tempestuous starlet and mollifying director…
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My Q&A with composer Mason Bates about his forthcoming Steve Jobs opera commissioned by Santa Fe Opera is on KQED Arts. The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs has a world premiere in 2017. The opera will be workshopped next month in San Francisco in collaboration with Cal Performances and additional support from the San Francisco Conservatory…
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My Q&A preview with Maestro Jeffrey Thomas of American Bach Soloists about Marais' Sémélé is on KQED Arts. Looking forward to the opening on Thursday, August 13 at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I am impressed that a second performance had to be added back in June because of the high demand for tickets, as…
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* Notes * The West Edge Opera opened the third and last opera of its 2015 Festival with Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria last night. Monteverdi's opera was held at American Steel Studios in Oakland, a former pipe factory turned studio space. The industrial atelier seems at odds with the Baroque opera but the result was…
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