The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Bluebeard’s Castle

  • LA Opera’s Dido & Bluebeard

    * Notes * Los Angeles Opera presented a double bill of Dido and Aeneas (Paula Murrihy and Liam Bonner in the title roles pictured left, photograph by Craig Matthew) and Bluebeard’s Castle last night. The juxtaposition of these two works is pleasantly odd. Conducted by Steven Sloane, the orchestra could have sounded slightly crisper in the…

  • Bluebeard at SFS

    * Notes * This week Michael Tilson Thomas conducts San Francisco Symphony (pictured left) in a program of Liszt and Bartók. The opening performance began with Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1. Jeremy Denk played fluidly, but with clear articulation. Both Denk and the orchestra could sound blustery or playful as the music required. The staged version…

  • Bluebeard and Erwartung at Seattle Opera

    * Notes * A double-bill of Bluebeard's Castle and Erwartung opened at Seattle Opera this evening. The two works were originally directed by Robert Lepage for the Canadian Opera Company, but were directed by François Racine in Seattle. The Bartók was stunning, though the orchestra was not always perfect under Evan Rogister, the music is compelling and the production…

  • Bluebeard’s Castle and L’enfant et les sortilèges at Berkeley Opera

    * Notes * Berkeley Opera is midway through a run of Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. The double bill makes for a short evening, a mere 2 hours and 10 minutes including an intermission. I was skeptical of the "unique multi-media staging," as both productions involved projections on an…

  • Plethora of Opera in the East Bay this Month

    April 25- June 8 2008: Figaro (Inspired by Mozart and Beaumarchais) at Berkeley RepMay 2-11 2008: San Francisco Opera‘s The Little Prince at UC BerkeleyMay 3-11 2008: Bluebeard’s Castle and L’enfant et les sortilèges at Berkeley OperaMay 9-25 2008: Queenie Pie at Oakland Opera Also, Sacramento Opera‘s Tosca closes tonight. This weekend, instead of going…

  • Seattle Opera’s 2008-2009 Season

    August 2-23 2008: AidaAugust 16 2008: International Wagner CompetitionOctober 18- November 1 2008: ElektraJanuary 10-24 2009: Les Pêcheurs de PerlesFebruary 21- March 7 2009: Bluebeard's Castle and ErwartungMay 2-16 2009: Le Nozze di Figaro I may avoid Aida, as Andrea Gruber is in the title role, and her vibrato is overwhelming. I am not terribly…