The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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  • Hesperion XXI in Berkeley

    Jordi-savall-hesperionxxi * Notes * 
    Jordi Savall’s Hespèrion XXI performed a sold-out concert in Berkeley last Tuesday. The program, entitled Lux Feminae (900-1600): Seven Portraits of the Woman in Ancient Hesperia, featured soprano Montserrat Figueras (she also accompanied herself with the cithara); Pierre Hamon on woodwind instruments including the ney, gaita, and flutes; Dimitri Psonis playing the stringed instruments of oud, santur, and morisca; and Savall himself played rebab and lira da gamba. The recital started with Hamon playing both a wind instrument and drumming his way down the aisle from the back of the hall. The playing was rousing throughout and the instrumental pieces were particularly beautiful. Figueras was slightly amplified, and this was unnecessary in the space, being a rather small church rather than a huge concert hall. At times she was painfully loud, though her voice is quite pretty and vibrant.

    * Tattling * 
    The concert lasted a solid 90 minutes without intermission. This does not include the rather amusing encore of one tune played in Greek, Turkish, and Jewish versions.

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  • Garanča Cancels on SF Opera’s Werther

    Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča has canceled her scheduled performances of Werther at San Francisco Opera during the 2010-2011 season. Alice Coote will sing in Garanča's stead.

    Press Release | Official Site

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  • James Conlon receives Lifetime Achievement Award

    James Conlon has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles.

    James Conlon | Istituto Italiano di Cultura

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  • Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 2010

    Leah-crocetto The winners this year are sopranos Leah Crocetto, Lori Guilbeau, and Rachel Willis-Sørensen; tenor Nathaniel Peake; and baritone Elliot Madore.

    Official Site | Press Release from SF Opera [PDF]

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  • Zambello at Glimmerglass

    Francesca Zambello will be the next general and artistic manager of Glimmerglass Opera, starting September 1, 2010.

    Press Release [PDF] | Official Site

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  • Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in SF

    Chung * Notes * 
    Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France played a program consisting only of Ravel in San Francisco last Sunday evening. Myung-Whun Chung had the musicians well in hand, he was always ahead of them, and his cues seemed quite precise, despite the fact that he did not use a score for any of the pieces. The evening began with the quite and restrained Ma Mère l'Oye, which was followed by Shéhérazade sung by a very sweet Anne Sofie von Otter. The second half of the program brought us a very clear rendition of Suites Nos. 1 & 2 from Daphnis et Chloé. The evening ended with the wry and grotesque La Valse. In general, the playing was controlled, the brass pristine, and all the musicians were entirely together.

    * Tattling * 
    The audience was mostly quiet, only a slight bit of whispering was noticed, and most of this was in French.

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  • Kissine & Tetzlaff at SFS

    Kissine * Notes * 
    San Francisco Symphony just finished 4 performances a program that included a world premiere of Kissine's Post-scriptum and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Christian Tetzlaff. The musicians seemed quite focused during the Kissine, they were clearly paying a good deal of attention to Michael Tilson Thomas on the podium. The result was a diaphanous sound, the music itself wavered icily, and at times achieving an atmospheric, otherworldly beauty. In contrast, Christian Tetzlaff almost seemed possessed during the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. His playing could be savage and fervid, never mawkish, but not without tenderness when necessary.

    The second half of the program gave us Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales and Lizst's Tasso: Lamento e Trionfol. The playing was facile, and the brass was particularly clear in the Lizst.

    * Tattling * 
    Somehow I found myself in the first row of the orchestra, in the middle section, just slightly to the left. Everyone around me was well-behaved, though there was some minor talking aloud.

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  • Jordi Savall conducts PBO

    Savall * Notes * 
    Jordi Savall started his run of six performance with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco last Friday. The program, entitled "The French Suite in Europe," began with the Suite du Ballet de Stockholm by Guillaume Dumanoir and Anonymous. The orchestra started off quite crisply and the concertmaster, Carla Moore, played boldly. The brass was clear, but the woodwinds squeaked, and someone was out of tune during the Presto (Tambourin). The oboes and bassoon sounded better in Lully's Suite from Alceste, and the piccolo was suitably harsh in Les Démons: 2ème Air. The trumpets were a bit hazy, but overall the piece had a pleasing stateliness followed by triumph at the end.

    After the intermission Savall was the soloist in Telemann's Ouverture in D Major for Viola da gamba, strings, and continuo. The musicians of the Philharmonia played beautifully, and Savall was arresting, the viola da gamba sounded rich, passionate, and never cloying. The finale consisted of a vigorous performance of two suites from "Water Musick" by Händel, the second and third. With the exception of few stray sour notes from the trumpets in Alla Hornpipe, the orchestra sounded crystalline. The horns did particularly well.

    * Tattling * 
    There was only a tiny bit of talking from the couple in Row C Seats 8 and 10 of the orchestra, but just during the Suite du Ballet de Stockholm, when the first violin solo began. By chance, we were seated next to the friends who introduced us to PBO in the first place.

    The encore, the contradanse from Ramaeu's Les Boréades, was wonderfully fun, as it involved audience participation. We clapped a certain rhythm, but only when cued by Savall, and "not too loud," as he requested.

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  • San Francisco Symphony’s 2010-2011 Season

    September 7 2010: Gala with Jessye Norman
    September 22-25 2010: Harrison, Copland, Tchaikovsky
    September 29- October 3 2010: Ravel, Debussy, Berlioz
    October 7-9 2010: Revueltas, Villa-Lobos, Varèse, Beethoven
    October 14-17 2010: Bychkov conducts Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Walton
    October 21-24 2010: Conlon conducts Wagner, Bruch, Dvořák; Joshua Bell, violin
    October 24 2010: Dresden Staatskapelle plays Beethoven and Brahms
    October 28-30 2010: Heras-Casado conducts Mendelssohn, Liszt, Kurtág, Shostakovich’s 12th
    October 31 2010: SF Symphony Youth Orchestra
    October 31 2010: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920 film)
    November 2 2010: Murray Perahia, piano
    November 3-5 2010: Kalmar conducts Schnittke, Haydn, Orff
    November 6 2010: Día de los Muertos Concert
    November 7 2010: Mutter-Bashmet-Harrell Trio plays Beethoven
    November 11-13 2010: Concerts for Kids
    November 11-13 2010: Kahane conducts Ravel, Rufus Wainwright, Weill
    November 14 2010: Music for Families
    November 14 2010: Chamber Music Series
    November 17-21 2010: MTT conducts Schubert, Strauss; Elza van den Heever, soprano
    November 21 2010: Oliver Latry, organ
    November 24-27 2010: MTT conducts Brahms, Berg; Yefim Bronfman, piano
    December 2-4 2010: Adams’ El Niño
    December 5-6 2010: Deck the Hall
    December 5 2010: Chamber Music at the Legion of Honor
    December 5-6 2010: MTT conducts Cowell, Mozart, John Adams; Gil Shaham, violin
    December 11-12 2010: Cabrera conducts Peter and the Wolf
    December 12 2010: John Adams
    December 13-15 2010: Colors of Christmas
    December 18 2010: Music for Families
    December 31 2010: New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball
    January 6-9 2011: Karabits conducts Silverstrov, Schumann, Rachmaninoff; Hélène Grimaud, piano
    January 13-15 2011: Tortelier conducts Mussorgsky, Khachaturian, Prokofiev; Vadim Gluzman, violin
    January 18 2011: Lang Lang, piano
    January 20-23 2011: Janowski conducts Beethoven; Juho Pohjonen, piano
    January 23 2011: Itzhak Perlman, violin
    January 26-28 2011: Robertson conducts Dukas, Prokofiev, Avner Dorman; Leonidas Kavakos, violin
    January 29 2011: Chinese New Year Concert
    January 30 2011: Paul Jacobs, organ
    February 9-12 2011: Janowski conducts Beethoven
    February 9-12 2011: Koopman conducts Bach, Haydn, CPE Bach, Schubert
    February 12 2011: Music for Families
    February 13 2011: Dmitri Hvorovstovsky, baritone; Ivari Ilja, piano
    February 17-19 2011: Labadie conducts Mozart
    February 20 2011: Chamber Music Series
    February 23-26 2011: MTT conducts Feldman and Mozart
    February 28 2011: Mehta conducts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
    March 3-6 2011: MTT conducts Hindesmith, Grieg, Brahms; Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
    March 10-12 2011: Masur conducts Mendelssohn; Susannah Biller, soprano
    March 13 2011: Yefim Bronfman, piano
    March 14-17 2011: Concerts for Kids
    March 16-20 2011: Mass in B Minor
    March 9 2011: Music for Families
    March 24-26 2011: Blomstedt conducts Mozart and Dvořák
    March 27 2011: Chamber Music Series
    March 27-28 2011: Saint Petersburg Philharmonic
    March 30- April 2 2011: Blomstedt conducts Tchaikovsky, Sibelius
    April 3 2011: Jane Parker-Smith, organ
    April 7-9 2011: Vänskä conducts Mendelssohn and Vaughan Williams
    April 10 2011: National Orchestra of Spain
    April 14-17 2011: Dutoit conducts Dutilleux, Berlioz
    April 28-30 2011: Oundjian conducts Rouse, Beethoven, Brahms
    May 1 2011: Chamber Music Series
    May 5-8 2011: MTT conducts Mahler’s 9th
    May 12-14 2011: MTT conducts Mahler’s 6th
    May 15 2011: SF Symphony Chorus Concert
    May 22 2011: SF Symphony Youth Orchestra
    June 14 2011: Yuja Wang, piano
    June 16-19 2011: MTT conducts Bartók, Tchaikovsky; Yuja Wang, piano
    June 21 2011: Yuja Wang, piano
    June 23-26 2011: MTT conducts Missa solemnis; Christine Brewer, soprano
    July 4 2011: Fourth of July Concert
    July 10 2011: Dolores Park Free Concert
    July 24 2011: Stern Grove Free Concert


    The San Francisco Symphony announced the 2010-2011 season today. Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, Michelle DeYoung, and Christine Brewer sing. Guest conductors include John Adams, Zubin Mehta, and Osmo Vänskä.


    Press Release [PDF] | Official Site

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  • Don Giovanni at Berkeley Opera

    Berkeleyoperagiovanni * Notes *
    Berkeley Opera's inaugural production at El Cerrito Performing Arts Theatre, Don Giovanni, is a great success. The new venue features an actual orchestra pit, a balcony, and 450 seats compared to the 328-seat Julia Morgan, where Berkeley Opera performed for the last 12 years. The second performance last night looked quite full, and it is possible the whole run sold out. The opera company needs a new name, as El Cerrito is not even in the same county as Berkeley. In fact, there is a contest on to submit suggestions, and the winner will receive a subscription for next season.

    Alexander Katsman did not quite have the orchestra in hand, the musicians and singers were not entirely together, and there were intonation errors from the violins. The woodwinds were a bit squeaky, and the brass also made a few mistakes. The overture did go fairly well, and the brass did especially nicely. In any case, there were many pretty voices in the cast. William O'Neill was convincing as Masetto, his voice suits the role, but his accent in Italian could use some work. Elyse Nakajima (Zerlina) sounded vulnerable, light, and young. Aimée Puentes was hilarious as Donna Elvira, her comic timing was perfect, and she did not push her voice too hard.

    Michael Desnoyers was warm and bright as Don Ottavio, and he sang "Il mio tesoro" with beauty. "Dalla sua pace" was not used in this version. Kaileen Miller (Donna Anna) started off somewhat quietly, but warmed up over time. Her voice is icy and has perhaps too much vibrato at the top, but still is appealing. Igor Vieira was amusing as Leporello and has a lovely voice, though he did get a little ahead of the music more than once. Eugene Brancoveanu was a cartoon of a Don Giovanni, completely excessive in his portrayal. It was funny, and certainly Brancoveanu has a gorgeous voice, rich and hefty.

    The light-hearted production, directed by the new artistic director of Berkeley Opera, Mark Streshinsky, had its moments, but missed the mark at crucial points. There were many original and diverting aspects, certainly. Having a yoga class for "Ah, chi mi dice mai" was exceedingly entertaining, and Puentes did a fantastic job of pulling this off. Having racks of costumes descend during "Fin ch'han dal vino" set us up nicely for the following scenes. The rubber chicken at the end of one of the racks was a fine touch.

    Projections were used to good effect for the "Madamina, il catalogo è questo," but the falling rose petals for the marriage procession certainly must be a screensaver on some ancient desktop somewhere, and the way the statue of the Commendatore was handled simply looked like a video game. Projection is quite tricky, especially because they tend to be behind the singers, rendering the interaction between the two rather artificial. Technology aside, the real problems were in the stage direction. How exactly is Don Giovanni keeping his attackers at bay at the end of Act I, when he has no weapons and is simply dancing around? What prompts Don Giovanni to get on the upstage platform in the finale, besides the fact that he has to descend?

    * Tattling * 
    The audience was enthused, and talked very little during the music. The patrons on the right side of Orchestra Level Row P were indulgent, and put up with my crawling over them to get to my seat, which of course was nearly in the middle of the row. Next time one should be sure to arrive earlier, as the line for will call was extensive. Both Aaron Copland's The Tender Land and the adaptation of Wagner's Ring by David Seaman sound worthy of attendance.

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