The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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  • ABS Performs Matthew Passion

    440x440xBach-ChesterW-1024x1024.jpg.pagespeed.ic.AZdbkahVbB* Notes *
    American Bach Soloists is currently performing sold-out St. Matthew Passion concerts around the Bay Area. Jeffrey Thomas conducted a fastidious performance in Berkeley last night. The orchestra played neatly. The soloists were not entirely even, and the choral singing often sounded most cohesive.

    Tenor Derek Chester (pictured left) sounded lovely as the Evangelist. His voice carries well, and he though he did have a few squeaks here and there, he sang compellingly. William Sharp gave an elegant performance as Christ, and also sang “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein,” the last baritone aria of the piece.

    Hélène Brunet had an ABS debut as first soprano and sounded quite clear. Clara Rottsolk (Soprano II) has beautiful low notes. Agnes Vojtko (Alto I) also had a fine lucidity in her singing. As Alto II, countertenor Jay Carter was somewhat strained, but his “Können Tränen meiner Wangen” was effective.

    Tenor Charles Blandy has a bright sound with some rough edges, and tenor Jon Lee Keenan a pretty, reed-like voice that is perhaps less resonant. Baritone Thomas Meglioranza (Basso I) was easier to hear than baritone Joshua Copeland (Basso II).

    * Tattling *
    The person in Row H Seat 114 during Part II had difficulty being quiet. Not only did she speak to the woman she came with but she hummed along with the American Bach Choir and was rather out of tune.

    My puerile companion was amused that one of the witnesses was sung by the countertenor.

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  • SF Opera at the Rickshaw Stop

    Barely-operaSan Francisco Opera is taking over the Rickshaw Stop for pop-up event entitled "Barely Opera" on March 2, 2015 at 8:00pm. The evening will feature famous arias, Broadway tunes, and more performed by the Adler Fellows. Tickets are 10 dollars, available at Event Brite or at the door.

    Official Site | Rickshaw Stop | Tickets

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  • SF Opera Casting Changes

    PITTAS-Dimitri-2015Tenor Dimitri Pittas (pictured left) will replace Stephen Costello as Michele in La Ciociara at San Francisco Opera. Costello has withdrawn for personal reasons.

    Baritone Vitaliy Bilyy will make his San Francisco Opera debut in the role of Miller in Luisa Miller. Bilyy replaces Thomas Hampson, who has decided not to add this particular Verdi role to his repertoire.

    Soprano Elizabeth Futral will join the cast of Sweeney Todd in the role of the Beggar Woman.

    La Ciociara | Luisa Miller | Sweeney Todd | San Francisco Opera Press Release

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  • Opera Parallèle’s Dead Man Walking

    Opera-parallele-dead-man-walking-2015* Notes *
    Opera Parallèle opened the 2015 season with a chamber version of Dead Man Walking at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco last night. Opera Parallèle again makes a compelling case for contemporary works, and the appeal of Jake Heggie’s first opera is obvious. Artistic Director Nicole Paiement conducted a lush and robust sounding small orchestra. Director Brian Staufenbiel‘s production is elegant and effective. The main props are a dozen floating rectangular screens, each segmented into smaller shapes made up of metal bars. The use of video projection in the background is tasteful, as is having two supernumeraries representing the murdered teenagers on stage for most of the opera.

    The cast is impeccable. Catherine Cook did an amazing job singing Mrs. De Rocher, the mother of the title character. Her appearance at the pardon board in Act I Scene 7 was one of the strongest moments of the performance. The following scene with the parents of the victims was also ravishing. Robert Orth (Owen Hart), Kristin Clayton (Kitty Hart), Joseph Meyers (Howard Boucher), and Michelle Rice (Jade Boucher) are convincing. Talise Trevigne is an outstanding Sister Rose, her voice is beautifully lucid. Michael Mayes has a pretty voice, but his physicality works well for Joseph De Rocher. Jennifer Rivera sounded pure and lovely as Sister Helen.

    * Tattling * 
    Everyone around me in the Center Orchestra section was absolutely quiet and attentive.

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  • The Met’s 2015-2016 Season

    Metropolitan_Opera_House_At_Lincoln_Center_2September 21 2015- May 6 2016: Otello
    September 23 2015- January 30 2016: Turandot
    September 25 2015- February 13 2016: Il Trovatore
    September 26 2015- January 9 2016: Anna Bolena
    October 8-31 2015: Tannhäuser
    October 16- December 1 2015: Tosca
    October 20- December 17 2015: Rigoletto
    November 5- December 3 2015: Lulu
    November 23 2015- May 5 2016: La Boheme
    December 4 2015- January 7 2016: Die Fledermaus
    December 16 2015- January 2 2016: The Barber of Seville for Families
    December 31 2015- February 4 2016: Les pêcheurs de perles
    January 21-February 26 2016: Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci
    January 29-February 20 2016: Maria Stuarda
    February 12- March 11 2016: Manon Lescaut
    February 19- April 12 2016: Madama Butterfly
    February 25- March 26 2016: Le Nozze di Figaro
    March 10- April 7 2016: L’Elisir d’Amore
    March 24- April 19 2016: Roberto Devereux
    April 1-16 2016: Simon Boccanegra
    April 14- May 7 2016: Elektra
    April 22- May 7 2016: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

    The Met announced the 2015-2016 season today. There will be 227 performances of 25 operas, including six new productions. The new productions are Otello, Lulu, Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Manon Lescaut, Roberto Devereux, and Elektra.

    Online 2015-2016 Brochure | Official Site

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  • Der fliegende Holländer at Hawai’i Opera Theatre

    Hot-dutchman-2015 * Notes *
    Der fliegende Holländer opened at Hawai’i Opera Theatre last night. Francesca Zambello’s production, directed here by Sara Widzer, involves a lot of ropes. The set is simple and remains essentially the same the entire time, despite the intermission placed in the middle of Act II. Scenes are changed using light and a few props, including the aforementioned ropes and some furniture. The choreography is elaborate, singers dance and climb up metal scaffolding or rope netting. Though the stage direction seems somewhat fussy, the main plot points are well-motivated and the end is definitely effective.

    The youthful cast is strong. Melody Moore is radiant as Senta, and has a lovely vulnerability. Ryan McKinny is powerful in the title role, and conveys a certain dangerousness in his growling, bold voice. Jay Hunter Morris sounds bright and plaintive as Erik. Paul Whelan (Daland) is cheerful and Nathan Munson (Steuermann) sweet. It was difficult, at least at yesterday’s performance, to hear Maya Hoover as Mary, but her physicality is spot on for the role.

    The orchestra, conducted by John Keenan, played the overture with spirit. There were times when the musicians could have sounded more cohesive, and this was also the case with the chorus. However, this does not detract much from the sturdiness of the piece itself or the fine soloists.

    * Tattling *
    It was helpful to sit in the first row for this performance, as it made it easy to ignore the scattered talking from my neighbors (Row A Seats 25 and 27) on the left. They were engaged by the experience but perhaps a bit noisy in their enthusiasm. The couple on my right (Seats 21 and 19) was completely rapt and silent.

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  • Merola’s 58th Season Participants

    Sopranos
    Kathryn Bowden, Glastonbury, Connecticut
    Cree Carrico, Detroit, Michigan
    Amina Edris, Christchurch, New Zealand
    Madison Leonard, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
    Meredith Mecum, Hershey, Pennsylvania
    Toni Marie Palmertree, Fleetwood, Pennsylvania

    Mezzo-Sopranos
    Raehann Bryce-Davis, Keene, Texas
    Tara Curtis, Kansas City, Missouri
    Ashley Dixon, Peachtree City, Georgia
    Nicole Woodward, Quincy, Florida

    Tenors
    Christopher Bozeka, Akron, Ohio
    Alasdair Kent, Perth, Australia
    Soonchan Kwon, Daejeon, South Korea
    Michael Papincak, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    Baritones
    Alex DeSocio, Wichita, Kansas
    Sol Jin, Seoul, South Korea
    Kihun Yoon, Seoul, South Korea

    Bass-Baritones
    Zachary Elmassian, East Lansing, Michigan
    James Ioelu, Auckland, New Zealand
    Austin Siebert, Shelbyville, Indiana
    Brad Walker, Lake Zurich, Illinois

    Basses
    Scott Russell, Roanoke, Virginia
    Ming Zhao, Kaifeng, China

    Apprentice Coaches
    Edoardo Barsotti, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
    Robert Bosworth, Fort Worth, Texas
    Aaron Breid, Del Mar, California
    Samuel Emanuel, New Rochelle, New York
    Kirill Kuzmin, Moscow, Russia

    Apprentice Stage Director
    Mo Zhou, Nanjing, China

    The Schwabacher Summer Concert, directed by Roy Rallo and conducted by Valéry Ryvkin, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music is on Thursday, July 9. The free outdoor afternoon Schwabacher will be held at Yerba Buena Gardens on Saturday, July 11. The Merola artists perform a double bill of Menotti's The Medium and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, on Thursday, July 23 and Saturday, July 25 in the newly-renovated Cowell Theater at Fort Mason. Mark Morash conducts and Peter Kazaras directs.

    Donizetti's Don Pasquale, led by director Nic Muni and conducted by Warren Jones, will be presented on Thursday, August 6 and Saturday, August 8 at the Cowell Theater. The season ends with the participants singing in the annual Merola Grand Finale, led by conductor Antony Walker and directed by Merola Opera Program apprentice stage director Mo Zhou on Saturday, August 22 at the War Memorial Opera House.

    Official Site | Press Releases

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  • Paul Goodwin Conducts SFS

    NewGoodwin_MannyEspinoza* Notes * 
    Conductor Paul Goodwin (pictured left, photograph by Manny Espinoza) is leading the San Francisco Symphony in a rather traditional program of Bach and Mozart this weekend. Goodwin, however, is anything but staid. He has a clear point of view and the orchestra sounds powerful under his direction. Last night's concert began with a stately rendition of J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3. The trumpets were particularly vital and in tune.

    These performances mark the San Francisco Symphony debut of soprano Lydia Teuscher, who sang two Mozart arias and Bach's Wedding Cantata. Her voice is bright and pretty. The tenor clarinets were lovely in "Al desio, di chi t'adora." The oboist sounded quite happy in the Bach, and the string soloists also played well. The bass player seemed to be having a lot of fun.

    The evening ended with Mozart, a rousing Symphony No. 31, Paris.

    * Tattling * 
    There was some whispering noted in the orchestra. Someone seated around Row N Seat 5 left in the middle of the Wedding Cantata, climbing over other patrons while quietly apologizing.

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  • Houston Grand Opera’s 2015-2016 Season

    Wortham_CenterOctober 23 – November 14 2015: Tosca
    October 30- November 13 2015: Eugene Onegin
    December 4-20 2015: The Little Prince
    January 23- February 8 2016: Le Nozze di Figaro
    January 29- February 12 2016 : Rusalka
    March 5-13 2016: Prince of Players
    April 16- May 1 2016: Siegfried
    April 22- May 7 2016: Carousel

    Details on the Season | Official Site

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  • PBO’s 2015-2016 Season

    PBO_byRandiBeachOctober 4-10 2015: Scarlatti's La gloria di primavera
    November 12-15 2015: Bach's Brandenburgs with Richard Egarr
    December 2-6 2015: Händel's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day and "Tra amplessi innocenti" and Purcell's Te Deum and Jubilate in D and Suite from Distressed Innocence
    December 19 2015: Händel's Messiah
    February 3-7 2016: Mozart's Concerto for Fortepiano No. 23 with Kristian Bezuidenhout, Symphonies No. 27 and 39
    February 11 2016: Arias from Ariodante and Xerxes with Susan Graham
    March 2-6 2016: Vivaldi's Concerto in D major and Rameau's Suite from Les Fêtes de L'Hymen et de L'Amour
    April 27- May 1 2016: Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, Elegiac Song, and Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2, Hymn of Praise

    Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's 2015-2016 season was announced today. The soloists for the Scarlatti are Suzana Ograjensek, Diana Moore, Clint van der Linde, Nicholas Phan, and Douglas Williams. The soloists for Messiah are Amanda Forsythe, Meg Bragle, Isaiah Bell, and Tyler Duncan. PBO will also tour major North American concert halls in Spring 2016 with guest artists Anne-Sofie von Otter and Andreas Scholl.

    Official Site

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