The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Opera Review
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* Notes * Today’s premiere of Götterdämmerung (Act II pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) at San Francisco Opera was arresting. Maestro Donald Runnicles had the orchestra sounding vivid and beautiful. There were bad notes and cloudiness here and there in the brass, but nonetheless it hardly mattered. The woodwinds were evocative, the strings shimmering. The…
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* Notes * Francesca Zambello's production of Siegfried (pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) opened today at San Francisco Opera. Though this opera is nearly 4 hours of music, it breezed by this afternoon. The orchestra was luminious under Donald Runnicles. The brass was warm with only a bit of haziness, and most of the horn…
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* Notes *West Bay Opera is currently presenting an ambitious double bill of Dido and Aeneas and La vida breve. The opening yesterday in Palo Alto left a decidedly mixed impression. The evening began with General Director José Luis Moscovich appealing for donations and joking about the opera's planned IPO. He gave a concrete example…
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Whilst the Opera Tattler attended a performance of Séance on a Wet Afternoon at the David H. Koch Theater on April 28, 2011, Miss LCU was nearby at Lepage’s new production of Die Walküre (Act III pictured left, © Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) with the Unbiased Opinionator. * Notes * Of late, James Levine gets credit for…
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* Notes * Saturday evening's Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera was a study in extremes. On one hand, Diana Damrau gave a revelatory performance, her Gilda ranged from giddily sweet to utterly devastating. She inhabited the character with complete conviction. Her "Caro nome" was incredible. On the other hand, our Duke, Giuseppe Filianoti, left much…
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* Notes * The last performance of Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera was Saturday's matinee. Since I have seen seemed David McVicar's production several times in San Francisco, it seemed best to simply listen at a score desk today. Conductor Marco Armiliato had the orchestra sounding spirited. The racing tempi were infused with energy. The…
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* Notes * The latest revival of the Metropolitan Opera's Orfeo ed Euridice (pictured left, © Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera) opened last night. The production, directed by Mark Morris, is busy. Done without an intermission, every second seemed full of movement. Allen Moyer's set opened, closed, shifted, and spun. Unfortunately it was rather loud, especially noticeable…
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* Notes * The East Coast premiere of Séance on a Wet Afternoon from Stephen Schwartz was given at New York City Opera earlier this month. The opera itself had some impressive intensity, particularly in the last two séances. The orchestration, however, was dense, and the male voices were particularly difficult to make out at times.…
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* Notes * The opening performance of a Faust revival at San Diego Opera occurred last night. Seen last season in San Francisco, the sets and costumes were designed by Robert Perdziola, with lighting from Michael Whitfield. Apparently the production, owned by Lyric Opera of Chicago, was actually designed for Tancredi. In San Diego, it was…
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The Unbiased Opinionator’s account of the last performance of Wozzeck this season at the Metropolitan Opera. * Notes * The musical and emotional journey that is Wozzeck is not an easy one. The score bears much study before an uninitiated listener can appreciate the dramatic richness and supreme formal architecture of Berg’s creation. Nonetheless, James Levine’s…
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