Physicists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford have uncovered the lost notes of "Du trouble affreux qui me dévore" (pictured left, photograph courtesy of Uwe Bergmann / SLAC) from Cherubini's Médée.
The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
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* Notes *
A revival of Così fan tutte (Act II Scene 2 pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened yesterday at San Francisco Opera. The orchestra sounded fairly loud and fast under the baton of Nicola Luisotti, and often ran ahead of the singers. There were times when the musical lines became muddled, as the singers were not audible, especially during ensembles. In contrast, the chorus was solid and together. The recitative accompaniment was energetic and humorous. Maestro Luisotti (fortepiano), Giuseppe Finzi (harpsichord), Thalia Moore (cello), and Michael Leopold (theorbo) seem to have a nice rapport.The production, directed by José Maria Condemi, is consistent with how it was staged in 2005. The set looks to be a hotel in Monte Carlo during the Belle Époque. The costumes are therefore striking and elegant, as are the Art Nouveau architectural elements.
The cast is youthful and convincing. Susannah Biller is cute and sprightly, her Despina got a lot of laughs. Bass Marco Vinco is such a good actor. His voice is not overly loud or pretty, but he is a fine Don Alfonso.
Francesco Demuro sounds creaky to me, at least when he is singing at full-volume, but is an appealing Ferrando. His “Un’aura amorosa” is endearing. Philippe Sly is fantastic as Guglielmo. His beautiful voice is rich and warm. Christel Lötzsch was so behind in her Act I aria, “Smanie implacabili,” it was hard to gauge how good her voice is, since it just sounded like noise at that point. She does blend smoothly with the other singers, but seems a bit fluttery. Her volume and brightness is good, however. Just a few of Ellie Dehn’s high notes were shrill Her Fiordiligi sounded robust yet still elegant.
* Tattling *
I was fortunate enough to be standing behind L 112 of the Balcony, which happened to be empty. The air conditioning did hum quite a bit during the second half of the performance.Leave a Reply
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The 28 of the 29 incoming Merolini (pictured left, photograph by Scott Grieder) were interviewed by San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald, Merola Opera Board of Directors Chairman Jayne Davis, and President Donna L. Blacker yesterday evening, in the Nourse Theater. This year four of the participants are Canadian and two are Iowan. We learned that bass-baritone John Arnold loves breakfast foods such as eggs, bacon, and toast. Apprentice stage director George Cederquist told a hilarious story about Joan Sutherland in her 1989 performance as Norma in Detroit. He also expressed a fondness for the operas of Orff, especially Der Mond.Mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb was goth in high school and studied mathematics as an undergrad. Tenor Casey Finnigan joked that if there were a musical character on Big Bang Theory, it would be him, as he is a “tremendous nerd.” Baritone Joseph Lattanzi gave a good-humored account of his Seattle Opera debut, in which he managed to fall flat on his back as Morales in Carmen. Both Jaqueline Piccolino and Robert Watson have made main stage debuts at San Francisco Opera, Piccolino is Stella in the current run of Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Watson was a nobleman in Lohengrin last fall. Apprentice coach Jeremy Weissmann explained what Vibram FiveFingers shoes are.
Schwabacher Summer Concert
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni: Alex DeSocio
Donna Elvira: Aviva Fortunata
Leporello: Rhys Lloyd TalbotDon Carlo
Don Carlo: Pene Pati
Rodrigo: Alex DeSocioOtello
Otello: Issachah Savage
Desdemona: Aviva Fortunata
Iago: Alex DeSocio
Cassio: Matthew Newlin
Emilia: Zanda Svede
Lodovico: Rhys Lloyd TalbotL’italiana in Algeri
Isabella: Zanda Svede
Lindoro: Matthew Newlin
Mustafà: Rhys Lloyd TalbotLucia di Lammermoor
Edgardo: Pene Pati
Raimondo: Rhys Lloyd TalbotL’amico Fritz
Fritz: Pene Pati
Beppe: Zanda SvedeThe Rape of Lucretia
Male Chorus: Robert Watson
Female Chorus: Linda Barnett
Collatinus: David Weigel
Junius: Efrain Solis
Tarquinius: Chris Carr
Lucretia: Kate Allen
Bianca: Katie Hannigan
Lucia: Alisa Jordheim***
Le Nozze di Figaro
Count Almaviva: Joseph Lattanzi
Countess Almaviva: Jacqueline Piccolino
Susanna: Maria Valdes
Figaro: John Arnold
Cherubino: Rihab Chaieb
Marcellina: Daryl Freedman
Bartolo: Thomas Richards
Basilio: Casey Finnigan
Don Curzio: Matthew Newlin
Barbarina: Alisa Jordheim
Antonio: Rhys Lloyd Talbot***
This year the Opera Standees Association is sponsoring George Cederquist and Efrain Solis.
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Production Web Site | SF Opera's BlogThe reviewers of San Francisco Opera's The Tales of Hoffmann (Act V pictured left with Matthew Polenzani as Hoffmann and Jacqueline Piccolino as Stella, photograph by Cory Weaver) agree that this is a production worth hearing and seeing.
Performance Reviews: Not for Fun Only | San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco Examiner | San Francisco Classical Voice| San José Mercury News
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* Notes *
A new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Hye Jung Lee as Olympia and Thomas Glenn as Spalanzani with the San Francisco Opera Chorus in Act II pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened at San Francisco Opera last night. Maestro Patrick Fournillier lead a lively orchestra. The brass sounded particularly good in the first third of the performance. The violin solo in Act III was beautiful. There were moments when orchestra and singers were not precisely together, but the players never overwhelmed the voices.This elaborate co-production with Gran Teatre del Liceu and L’Opera Nacional de Lyon is directed by Laurent Pelly, who also designed the costumes. Chantal Thomas’ set is sedate in color but moves swiftly, facilitating scene changes. Projections are used sparingly, never detracting from the lighting or the set. The most charming part of the staging is certainly Act II, the Olympia part of the opera. The devices employed to move the life-sized mechanical doll Olympia are effective and hilarious.
The chorus was strong, as usual, and were rarely off from the orchestra. Thomas Glenn makes for a perfect Spalanzani, his voice is pretty and he can act. Steven Cole did well with the four character tenor roles, and was particularly winsome as Cochenille and Frantz.
Each of the three principal women has a distinctive sound. Irene Roberts (Giulietta) seemed cold and haughty, even in her voice. Hye Jung Lee was brilliant as Olympia, her “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” was the most amusing moment in the performance. Her voice is flexible and clear. Natalie Dessay fared less nicely as Antonia. Her volume was fine, but some of her notes seem frayed. On the other hand, could not help but sympathize with her character.
Christian Van Horn was delightfully evil as all four villains. At first, I was thrown off by the texture of Angela Brower’s voice, but very much liked how her transformation from The Muse to Nicklausse is achieved. Her “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour” with Irene Roberts was absolutely lovely. As Hoffmann, Matthew Polenzani sounded light and lustrous. His voice was easily heard from under the overhang on the orchestra level.
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Since there were very few people in the last row of the orchestra level, there was little bad behavior to note. There did not seem to be any late seating, despite the early start time of 7:30pm.Leave a Reply
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Alexander Pereira has been named General Manager of La Scala, starting in 2015. Pereira is currently the Artistic Director of the Salzburg Festival.Leave a Reply
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Sopranos
Linda Barnett, Greeneville, Tennessee
Aviva Fortunata, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alisa Jordheim, Appleton, Wisconsin
Jacqueline Piccolino, Palatine, Illinois
Maria Valdes, Atlanta, GeorgiaMezzo-Sopranos
Kate Allen, Dublin, Ireland
Rihab Chaieb, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Daryl Freedman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Katie Hannigan, Newburgh, New York
Zanda Švēde, Valmiera, LatviaTenors
Casey Finnigan, Austin, Texas
Matthew Newlin, Georgetown, Illinois
Pene Pati, Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand
Issachah Savage, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Robert Watson, Kansas City, MissouriBaritones
Chris Carr, Quasqueton, Iowa
Alex Descocio, Wichita, Kansas
Joseph Lattanzi, Mableton, Georgia
Efrain Solis, Santa Ana, CaliforniaBass-Baritones
John Arnold, Cumming, Georgia
Thomas Richards, Burnsville, Minnesota
Rhys Talbot, Cedar Falls, Iowa
David Weigel, Asheville, North CarolinaApprentice Coaches
Timothy Cheung, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Noah Lindquist, Brooklyn, New York
Sahar Nouri, Tehran, Iran
Michael Shannon, London, Ontario, Canada
Jeremy Weissman, Culver City, CaliforniaApprentice Stage Director
George Cederquist, Ann Arbor, MILeave a Reply
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* Notes *
This weekend, Opera Parallèle is performing Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti (Lisa Chavez and Eugene Brancoveanu pictured right; photograph by Steve DiBartolomeo) at Z Space in San Francisco. The performances open with Samuel Barber’s ten-minute Hand of Bridge and simply flow into the Bernstein. Director Brian Staufenbiel‘s production makes the most of limited space by employing a quartered turn-table set and three screens for video projection. The scenes included a kitchen, an office, a theater, and a gym; each furnished beautifully. The images made a suitable backdrop, amusing rather than overwhelming.For Friday’s opening performance, Maestra Nicole Paiement held the small orchestra together, and the sound was clean. The singing was fine, the intimate venue made it easy to hear everyone. Krista Wigle, Andres Ramirez, and Randall Bunnell sang as The Trio with much energy. Lisa Chavez (Dinah) has a distinctive mezzo-soprano, a bit steely and very strong. As Sam, Eugene Brancoveanu sang with his usual warmth and vim. The acting went smoothly, and taken together the performance certainly did delight.
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The audience was ideal. No one spoke, there were no electronic devices heard, and there did not seem to be any latecomers.In the lobby, after the performance, we were treated to a reprise of Hand of Bridge, the singers precariously perched above the patrons.
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* Notes *
This week Christoph Eschenbach (pictured left, photograph by Eric Brissaud) conducts San Francisco Symphony in performances of Wagner and Dvořák. The two Wagner pieces included “Die Frist is um” from Der Fliegenden Holländer and Wotans Abschied from Die Walküre, with baritone Matthias Goerne as soloist. Goerne sounded characteristically legato. He was drowned out by the brass, and in fact the whole volume of the orchestra was rather loud. There was an obvious sour note in the second piece. There were moments when the first violins had a lovely, open sound, but the low strings were a bit muddy.After intermission came Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World. Again, the powerful volume of the orchestra was impossible to ignore. I found myself distracted by the absence of William Bennett’s oboe playing, as this was the first time I have heard San Francisco Symphony since his death.
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There was some chatter, but nothing too obnoxious.Leave a Reply
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* Notes *
William Christie and Les Arts Florissants are currently performing Charpentier’s David et Jonathas at BAM. The production is from Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and is directed by Andreas Homoki of Opernhaus Zürich. The set consists of wooden walls that can shift and move along two Cartesian axes. The blond wood used for walls and furniture has a clean simplicity. The lighting design likewise is elegant. The costumes reflected the updated setting of the Mediterranean in the 1930s or thereabouts.The singing was pleasant enough. The chorus sounded harmonious. Dominque Visse certainly sounded unnatural as La Pythonisse, and seemed to relish his role. Neal Davies raged as Saul. Ana Quintans made for a clear-toned Jonathas and Pascal Charbonneau sang David with vibrancy.
Best of all was the ensemble itself. Under the direction of William Christie, Les Arts Florissants sounded wonderfully sprightly. The precision of the playing did not suffer from the lively beauty of the performance.
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The three people in Row N Seats 35 through 39 on the orchestra level were monstrously ill-behaved. First of all, they were in the wrong seats and had to be asked to move over. Then the three talked aloud, despite being hushed by more than one person. One of them had some sort of noisy and possibly unhygienic habit, another one fell asleep and snored.Leave a Reply
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