The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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  • The Met Opera – Live in HD 2007-2008

    The Met’s first simulcast of the season, Roméo et Juliette, showed on 477 screens in the United States, and 100 screens abroad, selling around 97,000 tickets. The season is as follows:

    Roméo et Juliette
    December 15, 2007 (10:00 am – 1:30 pm PST)

    Hansel and Gretel
    January 1, 2008 (10:00 am – 12:35 pm PST)

    Macbeth
    January 12, 2008 (10:30 am – 1:50 pm PST)

    Manon Lescaut
    February 16, 2008 (10:00 am – 1:41 pm PST)

    Peter Grimes
    March 15, 2008 (10:30 am – 2:15 pm PDT)

    Tristan und Isolde
    March 22, 2008 (9:30 am – 3:05 pm PDT)

    La Bohème
    April 5, 2008 (10:30 am – 1:50 pm PDT)

    La Fille du Régiment
    Saturday, April 26, 2008 (10:30 am – 1:40 pm PDT)

    Here is a list of participating cinemas in the United States. In the Bay Area, the South Bay seems to have the most theaters involved in this.

    In the United States, one can purchase tickets online via Fathom Events by choosing the performance from the drop-down menu under the header labeled "Event Search," and then typing one’s zipcode in the form that appears on the right column labeled "Find Theatres." The results page redirects the user to either Fandago, MovieTickets.com, or some other third party site depending on the cinema. There are surcharges, so the $22 ticket is actually $23-25.50, and is more expensive than standing room at the Met ($20).

    As far as I could tell most of the cinemas outside the United States have some similar method of purchasing tickets online, the exceptions being the Czech Republic and Puerto Rico (the Met considers the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico an International Location). I believe I was able to navigate Cine Magnum well enough to reserve tickets for a theatre in Thuringia.

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  • San Diego Opera’s 2008 Season

    January 26- February 3 2008: Tannhäuser
    February 16-24 2008: Maria Stuarda
    March 22- April 2 2008: Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci
    April 12-23 2008: Aida
    May 3-11 2008: Les Pêcheurs de Perles

    Press Release

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  • Once

    Once_2* Notes *
    The Irish film Once was released on DVD earlier this week. I saw it a few months ago, and was determined to dislike it, as it was advertised about a thousand times on NPR as being about musicians finding romance on the streets of Dublin. Imagine my surprise to learn Once is actually a musical of sorts, and a very charming one at that. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová sing and play well, their songs are pretty, though lyrically they do tend to veer toward the maudlin. One gets the impression that neither of them are truly actors, but they do work well together and were able to pull it off. The movie itself is sweet without being cloying.

    * Tattling *
    The patrons of the     Elmwood are usually subdued, if anyone is loud, it is usually me and my inappropriate laughter. There was one time when I could not stop laughing at Mulholland Drive. The audience of a dozen people for Once was silent and barely moved.

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  • SF Opera Cinemacasts

    Following the Met‘s lead, San Francisco Opera and The Bigger Picture announced an agreement to bringing opera to movie theaters. Appomattox, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, La Rondine, Madama Butterfly, and Samson et Dalila will be shown four times each, beginning in March 2008. All of these offerings have already been recorded in the last year, so none of them will be simulcasts.

    Press Release [PDF] | San Francisco Opera | The Bigger Picture | Schedule

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  • WNO Opera’s 2009 Ring Cycle

    Washington National Opera is presenting a complete Ring Cycle for the first time in November of 2009. Dubbed the "American Ring," this co-production with San Francisco Opera is directed by Francesca Zambello.

    November 2-16 2009: Das Rheingold
    November 3-17 2009:     Die Walküre
    November 5-19 2009: Siegfried
    November 7-21 2009: Götterdämmerung

    Official Site | Press Release [PDF]

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  • Aaja Nachle

    Aaja_nachle* Notes *
    Madhuri Dixit made her return to the silver screen in Aaja Nachle, after a five year hiatus. She looks pretty great in the movie, considering she has had two kids since playing Chandramukhi in Devdas. Her dancing was lovely, and it was interesting to see a woman who just turned 40 as the main protagonist. Dixit was not completely convincing in the flashback scene from 11 years before the main part of the story, she just does not look like someone in her twenties. This is a minor point, Shah Rukh Khan does not always look like the 30 year old he was playing in Om Shanti Om either.

    The film itself was charming. The plot is simple, basically about traditional culture versus capitalism, a dance school is threatened with demolition to make way for a mall. The heroine is strong and independent, she runs off to the United States and comes back to make good. Komal Nahata called the plot unoriginal, much like Lagaan, as that film involves villagers learning to play cricket so that they can cancel taxes they cannot afford to pay. In Aaja Nachle, the people of Shamli have to put on a musical version of Laila and Majnu. Certainly there are similarities, but I would argue it is a bit different, the transcendence of art being rather central to Aaja Nachle.

    Though at times Aaja Nachle was slightly unbelievable and a little silly, for the most part it was quite cute. For instance, the production quality of the musical within a musical was far too good to be realistic, but it was good fun anyway. The music was not particularly catchy, and if asked, I could not hum a single tune from it.

    * Tattling *
    It turns out I couldn’t see Saawariya, even if I had wanted to, it has already left the     Naz 8.

    The theater had less than 20 people in it, it was clear why Aaja Nachle was declared a flop.

    Quite stupidly, I was on BART to Fremont just before a football game was to take place at the Oakland Coliseum. The fans screamed and such, and one jokingly threatened a person wearing paraphernalia of the opposing team. Indianapolis beat Oakland, 21-14.

    I noticed that Masala Grill, near the Naz 8 Cinema, devotes an entire section of their menu to Desi-Chinese dishes such as sweet corn soup and ginger chicken.

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  • Zeffirelli offers Pope a makeover

    Franco Zeffirelli, the opera and film director, offered to be an image consultant to Benedict XVI, in an interview with La Stampa.

    BBC Article

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  • SF Opera Audited Financial Results 2006-2007

    San Francisco Opera's 84th season ran from September 8, 2006 to July 1, 2007. Ten operas were performed in 76 performances. The annual operating budget was $61,148,690, with a surplus of $40,437.

    Press Release [PDF] | Official Finances and Governance Site

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  • Messiah at SFS

    Messiah* Notes *
     Of Händel's 29 oratorios, Messiah is far and away the most performed, and is the composer's most famous work. Messiah has returned again to San Francisco Symphony for a couple of performances, conducted by Ragnar Bohlin, who is the new director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Bohlin made his debut conducting at Davies Hall yesterday. The chorus sounded lovely. The orchestra, on the other hand, did not quite have it together for the soprano recitative right after the "Pifa." The violins were slightly fast, or else the cello and organ were slow. The trumpet sounded especially fine in the bass air "The Trumpet Shall Sound."

    The bass soloist, Patrick Carfizzi, was underpowered, he did sound nice when only accompanied by harpsichord. Some of his transitions were slightly muddy. Shawn Mathey, the tenor, lacked heft, and at times he was also difficult to hear. Mezzo-soprano Tove Dahlberg has a much brighter voice, with good resonance and depth. She did have a little too much vibrato for her higher notes in "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion." The soprano, Camilla Tilling, had good control of both her vibrato and volume, and though sometimes strained, never sounded shrill. All the soloists had fine diction.

    * Tattling *
    The symphony audience was well-behaved, even for this very famous work that must have drawn people that do not normally go to Davies Hall. I did hear two watch alarms during "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth." However, many people did leave early. The middle part of the Center Terrace was completely full for the first half of the performance, and there were noticeably less people for the second half.  A few people also left after the famous "Hallelujah" chorus, which also garnered the only applause during actual piece.

    Camilla Tilling looked beautiful in a satin pearl grey dress with a ruched bodice. Tove Dahlberg is possibly the only performer I have ever seen carry off wearing a strapless gown. Her posture is good and her shoulders are pretty. It must have been cold though, for she put on a wrap for the second half.

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  • Saawariya on NPR

    Saawariya Today NPR’s Morning Edition aired a story on Sony and Saawariya, a film based on Dostoevsky’s 1848 "White Nights." Saawariya was released the same weekend as Om Shanti Om, but was panned by critics, including Komal Nahata, the regular reviewer on the BBC Asian Network’s Love Bollywood, who was interviewed for this story.

    Both Saawariya and Om Shanti Om are still playing at the Naz 8 in Fremont. However, I was planning on seeing Aaja Nachle instead, though Nahata did not like it, Love Bollywood presenters Raj and Pablo did, and said the dancing was good. This is no surprise, given that Madhuri Dixit has training in Kathak, and the film Aaja Nachle is about saving a dance school.http://us.geocities.com/js_source/geovck08.js

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