The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Opera Review

  • Die Gezeichneten at LA Opera

    * Notes * Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten opened last night as part of LA Opera‘s Recovered Voices series. The music is rather voluptuous, yet oddly shimmery as well, and certainly is very beautiful. For the most part, the orchestra held together under James Conlon. The sound, while at times quite robust, did not overwhelm the…

  • Händel’s Orlando at PBO

    * Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra opened a run of Händel's Orlando last night at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. The opera was semi-staged, which made a rather silly opera perhaps even less convincing than it might have been. Production aside, the music was lovely. The orchestra sounded cohesive and jaunty under Nicholas McGegan. The strings…

  • Hamlet at the Met

    * Notes * This new production of Thomas' Hamlet had a third performance at the Metropolitan Opera last night. The set, designed by Christian Fenouillat, was pretty much just two large curved walls arranged in different orientations to suggest the changes of scene. For the most part this worked splendidly, and though the set creaked a…

  • The Nose at the Met

    * Notes * The fifth performance of Shostakovich's The Nose at the Metropolitan Opera was last night. Wiliam Kentridge's production is utter spectacle, the absurdist whimsy suits the music and the plot. At times, the animated projections were a bit dizzying, but overall they came off very well. There were times when the singers were placed…

  • Don Giovanni at Berkeley Opera

    * Notes *Berkeley Opera's inaugural production at El Cerrito Performing Arts Theatre, Don Giovanni, is a great success. The new venue features an actual orchestra pit, a balcony, and 450 seats compared to the 328-seat Julia Morgan, where Berkeley Opera performed for the last 12 years. The second performance last night looked quite full, and…

  • Nabucco at San Diego Opera

    * Notes *The opening of Nabucco this season at San Diego Opera was last night. The production was directed by Lofti Mansouri, the former General Director in San Francisco, and was as expected, nothing wild or crazy or new. Micahel Yeargan's set stayed essentially the same throughout the performance, though the backdrops were switched out…

  • Agrippina at Unter den Linden

    * Notes *The final performance this season of Agrippina at Staatsoper Unter den Linden was last Sunday. Vincent Boussard's production was Regietheater at its silliest, involving layers of iridescent beaded curtains, bowler hats, umbrellas, and a pair of giant beach balls filled with helium. Guido Levi's lighting did look wonderful with all the beads and…

  • Le Nozze di Figaro at Unter den Linden

    * Notes *The Saturday performance of Le Nozze di Figaro at Staatsoper Unter den Linden was utterly delightful. The production was simple, but cunning, and the scene changes happened fluidly. Herbert Kapplmüller's set was descriptive without being too elaborate, and Yoshi'o Yabara's costumes were in keeping with it. The orchestra sounded pleasant under Frank Beermann,…

  • Les Arts Florissants’ 2nd Performance of Giulio Cesare

    * Notes *The second performance of Giulio Cesare at Salle Pleyel came together better than the first. Les Arts Florissants sounded more cohesive. The concertmaster did not break any strings this time, and her intonation was more accurate, but her playing for "Se in fiorito ameno prato" was still screechy and not beautiful. The horn…

  • Don Carlo at Opéra national de Paris

    * Notes *The opening of Don Carlo at Opéra national de Paris was a bit slapdash. Graham Vick's production had some attractive elements, but lost a lot of tension in the drama because of how slow scene changes were. This was not helped by the two intermissions for four acts. Tobias Hoheisel's costumes were ostentatious…