The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Concert Review

  • Beethoven Marathon at SFS

    * Notes *Michael Tilson Thomas and San Francisco Symphony recently recreated a 1808 concert at the Theater an der Wien of Beethoven works. The engaging performance on Saturday night lasted four hours and forty minutes with three intermissions and required a chorus, two different versions of the orchestra, seven vocal soloists, and a pianist. Undoubtedly…

  • Meredith Monk at YBCA

    * Notes * Composer and vocalist Meredith Monk (pictured left) and her ensemble are currently performing On Behalf of Nature at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The opening performance on Friday was mesmerizing. The six singers all move beautifully, and it is impressive that one of them, Allison Sniffen, plays keyboards, violin,…

  • Rachel Podger at PBO

    * Notes * Violinist Rachel Podger (pictured left, photograph by Jared Sacks) lead Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in Vivaldi concerti from La cetra, La stravaganza, and L’estro armonico recently. The performance at the SFJazz Center last Friday in San Francisco was fiery. Podger had the eleven violinists and three violists standing, and lead with warmth and intelligence.…

  • ABS Performs Matthew Passion

    * 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…

  • Paul Goodwin Conducts SFS

    * 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…

  • ABS Performs Acis and Galatea

    * Notes * This weekend American Bach Soloists is performing Händel’s Acis and Galatea with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. During last night’s Berkeley concert Jeffrey Thomas conducted a crisp, vibrant Acis and Galatea. All of the soloists sang with a fine lucidity and the chorus sounded decisive. Nola Richardson (pictured left) had a lovely…

  • MTT Conducts L’Histoire du soldat

    * Notes * This weekend Michael Tilson Thomas (pictured left, photograph by Kristen Loken) is conducting seven members of the San Francisco Symphony in performances of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat. The vivid piece is narrated by Elvis Costello, who does a fine job declaiming his lines. Nick Gabriel (The Soldier) is earnest and Malcolm McDowell (The…

  • Steven Isserlis at PBO

    * Notes * Cellist Steven Isserlis (pictured left, photograph by Satoshi Aoyagi) is playing with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in the Bay Area starting with a performance at the SFJazz Center last night in San Francisco. The program is bookended with symphonies by Haydn, the first one being No. 57 in D major, and the second No.…

  • Dutoit conducts Fauré’s Requiem

    * Notes * At the moment, Charles Dutoit (pictured left) is conducting San Francisco Symphony in performances of Poulenc, Stravinsky, and Fauré. Poulenc’s Gloria began the concert on Thursday. The orchestra sounded bright and the chorus was cohesive. The “Laudamus te” was particularly jaunty. The soloist, soprano Susanna Phillips, sounded gorgeous. The “Domine Deus” was clear…

  • Vivaldi’s Juditha triumphans at PBO

    * Notes * The 2013-2014 season of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra ended with Vivaldi’s only surviving oratorio Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie. The work features a few of the more unusual Baroque instruments. Violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock played viola d’amore in “Quanto magis generosa” and clarinetist Eric Hoeprich played a chalumeau in “Veni, veni, me sequere fida.” Both…