The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Opera Review

  • Final Performance of Otello at SF Opera

    * Notes * The final performance of the year for San Francisco Opera was Verdi’s Otello last Wednesday. The orchestra continued to sound fine, especially the woodwinds. Luisotti’s interpretation of the music came through, his choices in tempi and dynamics were strong. The chorus also did wonderfully. Vocally, the performance was consistent with the opening, Renée Tatum…

  • The Barber of Seville at LA Opera

    * Notes * Last Sunday Il Barbiere di Siviglia opened in a matinée performance at Los Angeles Opera. The orchestra sounded unfocused under Michele Mariotti, often not with the singers. As Fiorello, José Adán Pérez sounded fine, as did Kerri Marcinko (Berta). Andrea Silvestrelli was an amusing Don Basilio, his throaty, resonant tones were spot on.…

  • Tamerlano at LA Opera

    * Notes * Yesterday evening Tamerlano had the third of five performances this season at Los Angeles Opera. William Lacey had the orchestra sounding uncharacteristically crisp, serving the music well. Most of the singing was of a high standard, only Ryan McKinny (Leone) and Jennifer Holloway (Irene) did not stand out, both lacking heft and fullness.…

  • From the House of the Dead at the Met

    * Notes * Leoš Janáček's final opera, Z Mrtvého Domu (From the House of the Dead) had a third performance at the Met last Saturday evening. The production marked the debuts of both conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and director Patrice Chéreau in this house. The austere staging featured a monolithic grey set from Richard Peduzzi, yet was…

  • Turandot at the Met

    * Notes * Last weekend's Saturday matinée of Turandot at the Met proved quite pleasing. Evidently the Zeffirelli production is extravagant, and judging from the audience reaction, the opulence was very much appreciated. Andris Nelsons had the orchestra playing rather loudly at times, the sound was full and rich. There was more than one time that…

  • Il Trittico at the Met

    * Notes * The latest run of Il Trittico at the Met opened last night. Stefano Ranzani made a fine debut, his tempi were elastic, and for the most part the orchestra did not overwhelm the singers. Patricia Racette sang the three soprano roles, as she did recently in San Francisco. Her voice showed some strain,…

  • Kepler at BAM

    * Notes * The US premiere of Kepler by Philip Glass was last Wednesday night at BAM. The opera is rather more like an oratorio than an opera, being that of the 7 solo roles, only one was a named character, Kepler himself. All the singers were from the Upper Austrian State Theatre, Linz, and they…

  • Don Giovanni at Bayerische Staatsoper

    Our correspondent in Germany, Opernphrenologe, was recently in Munich. What follows is a lightly edited review of the new Don Giovanni production that recently opened at Bayerische Staatsoper.    * Notes * The premiere of Don Giovanni, directed by Stephan Kimmig, in München started out badly enough. The curtain opened to reveal a naked old…

  • Opening of Otello at SF Opera

    * Notes * San Francisco Opera's last production of the year, Otello, opened this afternoon. Maestro Luisotti had the orchestra sounding richly fluent. The English horn, bassoon, and bass were particularly lovely. The brass instruments also had some good moments, though when they all played together there sometimes was a buzzing quality to the sound. The…

  • PBO’s Dido and Aeneas in Berkeley

    * Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra continued a run of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in Berkeley last night, along with a full program of other works of this composer. The performance set up was different this time, with the orchestra on stage behind the singers. The acoustics are better in this venue, First Congregational Church, than…