The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Cal Performances

  • The English Concert’s Alcina

    * Notes * The English Concert, conducted by Maestro Harry Bicket, has been touring Händel's Alcina with a first-rate cast. Yesterday afternoon the group came to Cal Performances in Berkeley with the splendid soprano Karina Gauvin (pictured, photograph by Julien Faugere) in the title role. The singing was uniformly wonderful, from bass Wojtek Gierlach's grave, authoritative…

  • Apollo’s Fire L’Orfeo

    * Notes * Apollo's Fire (pictured left, photograph by Roger Mastroianni), an idiosyncratic Baroque orchestra from Cleveland, is touring Monteverdi's L'Orfeo with a reconstruction of the lost Bacchanale ending, and made a stop at Cal Performances last night. The orchestra, lead by Jeannette Sorrell, sounded quite cheery. In particular, the wind band of various sackbuts, cornetti, trumpets,…

  • Cal Performances’ 2018-2019 Season

    September 23 2018: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and special guest Jon BatisteSeptember 28-30 2018: Mark Morris Dance Group; PepperlandSeptember 30 2018: Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Bach SuitesOctober 5 2018: Max Richter with the American Contemporary Music EnsembleOctober 6 2018: Aida Cuevas with Mariachi Juvenil Tecalitlán; A Tribute to Juan GabrielOctober 7 2018:…

  • Circa’s Il Ritorno

    * Notes * Following a decades long tradition, Cal Performances presented yet another fascinating hybrid work, this time a combination of contemporary circus arts and Baroque opera last weekend from the Australian troupe Circa. Those expecting to hear Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria might have been taken aback to hear Quincy Grant's 75 minute arrangement, which…

  • Les Arts Florissants’ Actéon/Dido and Aeneas

    * Notes * This year a second obscure French Baroque opera was seen at Cal Performances last Thursday, this time from Les Arts Florissants (pictured). Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Actéon, only rediscovered in 1945, is the first half of a show being toured by the French based Baroque ensemble whose name comes from a chamber opera by the…

  • Temple of Glory at Cal Performances

    * Notes *It is a shame that Rameau's Le Temple de la Gloire at Cal Performances (Prologue pictured left with Aaron Sheehan as Apollo and his muses from New York Baroque Dance Company, photograph by Frank Wing) only has three performances this weekend. The music is delightful, and I could have happily gone again today…

  • Temple of Glory Preview

    * Notes *My preview of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's The Temple of Glory up on KQED Arts. The opera, with music by Rameau and libretto by Voltaire, has a modern premiere of original 1745 version this Friday. * Tattling *I got to interview Maestro Nic McGegan for this piece, which was both exciting, because I love…

  • Cal Performances’ 2017-2018 Season

    August 5 2017: Asian Youth Orchestra with Sarah Chang, violinSeptember 21 2017: Gustavo Dudamel and the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela September 23-24 2017: Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group; Moses(es)September 30 2017: Lila DownsOctober 7 2017: Matt Groening and Lynda BarryOctober 11 2017: ODC/Dance; boulders and bonesOctober 13-15 2017: Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo…

  • Filter Theatre’s Twelfth Night at Cal Performances

    * Notes *Filter Theatre brought a manic 90-minute multi-media version of Twelfth Night to Cal Performances last night as part of a tour of the state. Directed by Sean Holmes, Shakespeare’s comedy — already chock full of love triangles, cross-dressing, and mistaken identity — involves a lot of music and takes audience participation to a…

  • Cal Performances 2015-2016 Season

    September 11-12 2015: National Circus of the People’s Republic of ChinaSeptember 18 2015: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra September 24-25 2015: Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of VenezuelaOctober 1-4 2015: Mariinsky Ballet & OrchestraOctober 9 2015: Orquesta Buena Vista Social ClubOctober 11 2015: Takács QuartetOctober 11 2015: Bollywood Masala Orchestra and Dancers of IndiaOctober 16-18 2015:…