The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: November 2017
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* Notes * Last night's world premiere of John Adams' Girls of the Golden West (Act I Scene 1 pictured, photograph by Stefan Cohen) at San Francisco Opera had some gorgeous singing and playing. But neither the music nor the artful, elegant stagecraft could save a stilted and tedious libretto. Tellingly, the best moment of the…
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Production Web Site | SF Opera’s Blog Reviews of San Francisco Opera’s Turandot (Martina Serafin in the title role pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) have not make me reconsider my decision to skip the opening, but the reviews of the second cast are promising. First Cast Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco Examiner…
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* Notes *La Rondine, that funny little Puccini rarity, opened last weekend in a charming production (Act II pictured, photograph by Pat Kirk) at Opera San José. The youthful cast looked perfectly suited for the piece and the playing was a delight. The production has lovely traditional sets and costumes and I appreciated Candace Evans'…
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* Notes * The West Coast premiere of William Kentridge's multimedia extravaganza Refuse the Hour (ovation at Saturday's evening performance pictured) was presented at ACT last weekend before heading south to Los Angeles. The frenetic piece is the companion of Kentridge's Refusal of Time, a video installation recently at SFMOMA, and it too contemplates nature of…
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* Notes * This year a second obscure French Baroque opera was seen at Cal Performances last Thursday, this time from Les Arts Florissants (pictured). Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Actéon, only rediscovered in 1945, is the first half of a show being toured by the French based Baroque ensemble whose name comes from a chamber opera by the…
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Production Web Site | SF Opera's Blog Reviews for San Francisco Opera's Manon (Act II, Scene 1 pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) are trickling in. Performance Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle | The Rehearsal Studio | San Francisco Examiner | San Francisco Classical Voice | Civic Center | Iron Tongue of Midnight | Opera Wire |…
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* Notes * The latest Manon at San Francisco Opera is visually striking and has some fine singing and playing. The opera hasn't been seen on the War Memorial stage since 1998, and Vincent Boussard's direction is a welcome departure from the very traditional stagings of the past. The set (Act III, Scene 1 pictured, photograph…
The Opera Tattler 