The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: San Francisco Opera

  • SF Opera Lab Preview

    My preview of San Francisco Opera's series at the Taube Atrium Theater and new audience initiatives for classical music organizations such as SoundBox, PIVOT, and Berkeley RADICAL is up on KQED Arts. I heard no less than three performances at the Wilsey Center for Opera: the first iteration of ChamberWORKS that I already described, an…

  • Atrium Theater’s Inaugural Event

    * Notes *SF Opera Lab held the first event at the new Taube Atrium Theater last night. The evening was open to certain San Francisco Opera donors but involved having to call the box office to reserve tickets, as the space only has 299 seats. The theater is part of the Diane B. Wilsey Center…

  • San Francisco Opera Staffing 2016

    San Francisco Opera has two new staff appointments in the Communications department, namely Director of Archive Barbara C. Rominski and Publications Editor Matthew Erikson. San Francisco Opera Press Release

  • SF Opera’s 2016-2017 Season

    September 9-30 2016: Andrea ChénierSeptember 10-29 2016: Dream of the Red ChamberSeptember 28- October 15 2016: Don PasqualeOctober 14-29 2016: The Makropulos CaseNovember 5- December 6 2016: AidaNovember 6- December 4 2016: Madama ButterflyMay 31- July 1 2017: RigolettoJune 4-30 2017: Don GiovanniJune 10-July 2 2017: La Bohème David Gockley announced the next season at…

  • SF Opera’s Fall of the House of Usher Double Bill

    * Notes *My review of San Francisco Opera's Usher House and La Chute de la maison Usher is up on KQED Arts. * Tattling * There was a fair amount of inappropriate laughter at the Gordon Getty piece, but this was more about staging than music. Also the use of "Eddie" to refer to Poe…

  • SF Opera’s Usher Media Round-Up

    Production Web Site | SF Opera's Blog The double bill of The Fall of the House of Usher at San Francisco Opera is unspeakably dull. Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle | San Jose Mercury News | Financial Times | KQED | San Francisco Classical Voice | The Classical Review | San Francisco Examiner | Examiner.com |…

  • SF Opera Summer 2016 Cast Changes

    Ellie Dehn (pictured left) replaces Nadine Sierra as Micaëla in the first cast of San Francisco Opera's Carmen, which opens May 27, 2016. Tenor Maxim Aksenov makes his War Memorial Opera House debut in the alternate cast as Don José replacing Riccardo Massi. Both Sierra and Massi are withdrawing for personal reasons. Jordi Bernàcer will…

  • SF Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia

    * Notes * A revival of Emilio Sagi’s busy production of Il barbiere di Siviglia (Act II pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) returned to San Francisco Opera after only two years. The proceedings last night did not come into focus until the finale of Act I, but the result was a definitive success, unlike much…

  • SF Opera’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

    * Notes *Let's not beat around the bush on this one, San Francisco Opera's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg  is very long and not for the faint of heart. Maestro Mark Elder's style is glacial, and while every single beautiful note is heard, it seemed tough on both the orchestra and the singers. Coupled with the…

  • Final Dress of SF Opera’s Meistersinger

    * Notes * It was a distinct pleasure to see and hear the final dress rehearsal of San Francisco Opera's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Brandon Jovanovich and the cast pictured left) was held last night at the War Memorial Opera House. The cast is great, and I'm sure they will be even better once everyone…