The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Leah Crocetto
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* Notes * The 93rd season of San Francisco Opera opened Friday with Luisa Miller, a Verdi rarity only seen on the War Memorial stage a dozen times before. The opera has a quintessentially Verdian plot: a protective father, an innocent daughter, a secret identity, and a love triangle that ends in a protracted death scene.…
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* Notes * A second cast appeared in San Francisco Opera's La Bohème (Ellie Dehn as Musetta, Brian Mulligan as Marcello, Giorgio Berrugi as Rodolfo, and Leah Crocetto as Mimì in Act III pictured left; photograph by Cory Weaver) on Saturday night. Again, Maestro Giuseppe Finzi conducted an orchestra that sounded grand and vivid, but…
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* Notes * Last night Nicola Luisotti conducted Verdi's Messa da Requiem at the War Memorial Opera House with the combined orchestras and choruses of Real Teatro di San Carlo and San Francisco Opera. The volume was occasionally deafening, especially the repeated part when the chorus sings "Dies irae" and the trumpets play. The piece felt…
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* Notes *The opening of Santa Fe Opera's Maometto II (Act II pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard) occurred a few weeks ago. The third performance yesterday evening had much appeal, in no small part because of Rossini's music, which was conducted by Frédéric Chaslin and played with spirit. The volume of the orchestra was…
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* Notes * San Francisco Opera‘s 89th season opened last night with a revival of Turandot (Iréne Theorin, Marco Berti, and Joseph Frank in Act III pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver). David Hockney‘s production is as garish as ever, but quite functional, as the sets only move minimally for the scene changes. This keeps the…
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* Notes * Sunday’s matinée of San Francisco Opera’s Cyrano de Bergerac opened a run of seven performances. Petrika Ionesco’s production, from Théâtre du Châtelet, is attractive, but does not make for the most elegant set changes. There was much delightful spectacle, and the staging was not entirely old-fashioned either, despite looking fairly traditional. The orchestra…
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* Notes *Soprano Leah Crocetto gave a recital of her favorite songs with pianist Tamara Sanikidze for the Salons at the Rex series yesterday evening. Crocetto began with “Ain’t it a pretty night?” from Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. She learnt this piece at the age of 18, and it sounded very natural for her. This was followed by…
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* Notes * Soprano Leah Crocetto gave her Schwabacher Debut Recital, accompanied by pianist Mark Morash, last Sunday evening. The eclectic program included works from Bellini, Rachmaninoff, Barber, Obradors, Liszt, Gregory Peeples, Gershwin, and Cole Porter. Crocetto sings with an impressive effortlessness. Bellini's Sei Ariette were very beautiful, and Crocetto's phrasing was lovely and fluid. She…
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