The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Opera Review

  • The Magic Flute at Livermore Valley Opera

    * Notes * Livermore Valley Opera's The Magic Flute (Act I pictured with Liisa Davila, Megan Potter, Leandra Ramm, Victor Cardamone, and Alex DeSocio) opened last night with a delightful and well-characterized cast of singers.  The English-language production, directed by Yefim Maizel, is straightforward and the set is simple, a platform with three stairs and…

  • Rigoletto at Opera San José

    * Notes * Rigoletto opened at Opera San José last weekend, but I attended the fourth performance, today's matinée. The opera was very moving. Dan Wallace Miller's production has the title character with a large scar on the right side of his face, rather than a spinal deformity, while the Duke has pox on his…

  • SF Opera’s L’Elisir d’Amore

    * Notes * A new production of L'elisir d'amore opened at San Francisco Opera this afternoon. Updated to the 1950s and set in the Italian Riviera, today's performance was a delight to see and hear. This co-production with Lyric Opera of Chicago is definitely festive. The action takes place at the restaurant of the Hotel Adina…

  • Opera San José’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia

    * Notes * Il barbiere di Siviglia opened at Opera San José last Saturday, but I attended the matinée on Sunday. The performance was a cartoonish delight with lots of pleasant singing. In his Opera San José debut Stephen Lawless directed this new production, which might not have had the best sense of space but…

  • SF Opera’s Omar

    * Notes * Omar, an opera about a West African Islamic scholar sold into slavery, opened at San Francisco Opera this afternoon. The opera by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels is an artful combination of rhythms, syncopation, textures, and lyricism. The main character of the opera, Omar ibn Said, is based on a real person who…

  • SF Opera’s Lohengrin

    * Notes * David Alden's Lohengrin opened at San Francisco Opera on October 15, but I only managed to attend the fourth performance on Tuesday. The orchestra sounded perfectly transparent and there was much lovely singing including a powerful chorus. Music Director Eun Sun Kim gets a very clear sound out of the orchestra, I feel…

  • Ars Minerva’s Olimpia Vendicata

    * Notes * Ars Minerva returned to ODC Theater in San Francisco for the modern premiere of Domenico Freschi's 1681 Olimpia Vendicata ("Olimpia Avenged"). The Sunday matinée had all the features of an Ars Minerva production: a small orchestra with clean, dry playing; projected backdrops; medieval-inflected costumes with a Burning Man aesthetic; beautiful, clear singing; and…

  • SF Opera’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

    * Notes * Mason Bates' The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, opened at San Francisco Opera last night, after being postponed for three years because of the pandemic. The opera has a propellent energy and lots of great singing. This opera, with libretto by Mark Campbell, about the Apple co-founder and CEO does not seem like it…

  • SF Opera’s Il Trovatore

    * Notes * Il Trovatore, the first opera at San Francisco Opera this season opened last night with lots of varied and beautiful playing from the orchestra. There was strong singing from the chorus and from the principals. Maestra Eun Sun Kim continues to impress, her tempi hold my attention. The tradeoff is that there are…

  • Opera San José’s Roméo et Juliette

    * Notes * Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (Sunday matinée ovation pictured, photograph by Charlise Tiee) opened Opera San José's fortieth season last weekend. The singing yesterday was very lovely and lyrical. It was well worth the drive to the South Bay to hear. General Director Shawna Lucey directed this new production, which did not seem…