The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Ars Minerva

  • Ars Minerva’s La Flora

    * Notes * Ars Minerva gave the modern premiere of Antonio Sartorio and Marc'Antonio Ziani's 1681 La Flora last weekend at ODC Theater in San Francisco. The Sunday matinée was delightful, the music kept moving, the playing bracing but buoyant, and the singing absolutely beautiful. The libretto, written by Novello Bonis, deals with historical figures from…

  • Ars Minerva’s Olimpia Vendicata

    * Notes * Ars Minerva returned to ODC Theater in San Francisco for the modern premiere of Domenico Freschi's 1681 Olimpia Vendicata ("Olimpia Avenged"). The Sunday matinée had all the features of an Ars Minerva production: a small orchestra with clean, dry playing; projected backdrops; medieval-inflected costumes with a Burning Man aesthetic; beautiful, clear singing; and…

  • Ars Minerva’s Astianatte

    * Notes * Ars Minerva was back with a seventh modern world premiere last weekend, this time Leonardo Vinci‘s 1725 Astianatte at ODC Theater in San Francisco. The Sunday matinée featured lots of beautiful singing from some familiar voices. The plot concerns the aftermath of the Trojan War, specifically focusing on Astyanax (Astianatte in Italian), son…

  • Ars Minerva’s Messalina

    * Notes * The inimitable Ars Minerva is presenting the North American premiere of Carlo Pallavicino’s Messalina this weekend at ODC Theater in San Francisco. The Saturday performance was a raucous romp through the Roman imperial court around 47 CE focused on Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Claudius. There are many love triangles and mistaken…

  • Ars Minerva’s Ermelinda

    * Notes * Before leaving for Ars Minerva's Ermelinda last night, my 5-year-old asked what the opera was about, and seeing that I was at a loss, he cheerfully let me off the hook, saying I could tell him today after I had seen it. Even after the delightful performance, the convoluted narrative is rather difficult…

  • Ars Minerva’s La Circe Review

    * Notes * Ars Minerva gave the modern premiere of Pietro Andrea Ziani’s La Circe last night at ODC Theater. It is almost alarming how pretty all the unknown music the group has uncovered is, this being the third Baroque Venetian opera the company has staged. It is clear that there is simply a ton of…