The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: San Francisco Opera

  • SF Opera’s Usher Double Bill Casting Changes

    Tenor Richard Croft has withdrawn from San Francisco Opera's Usher House and La Chute de la Maison Usher for personal reasons. He is replaced by Jason Bridges, who will sing Edgar Allen Poe in Gordon Getty's piece and Joel Sorensen, who will sing Le Médecin in Debussy's opera. The production runs from December 8 to…

  • SF Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor (Shagimuratova)

    * Notes * Lucia di Lammermoor closed last Wednesday at San Francisco Opera with Albina Shagimuratova as the title character, substituting for Nadine Sierra, who was ill. Shagimuratova herself has been sick and had not yet performed her role as the Queen of the Night in the current run of The Magic Flute that ends November…

  • Another SF Opera Lucia Casting Change

    Nadine Sierra has taken ill and tonight Albina Shagimuratova (pictured left) will replace her in San Francisco Opera's final performance of Lucia di Lammermoor this season. Shagimuratova is currently cast as The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, but did not sing the opening performance. Sierra, you'll remember, herself was replacing the ailing…

  • SF Opera’s Meistersinger Casting Change

    Greer Grimsley has withdrawn from San Francisco Opera's upcoming Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, because of "ongoing health issues." He is replaced by James Rutherford (pictured left). This is the seventh announced cast change of the season. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg | San Francisco Opera Press Releases

  • SF Opera’s The Magic Flute (Bowden/Shafer)

    * Notes * A revival of The Magic Flute opened at San Francisco Opera last night. The production has been beset with casting changes since August, and two more were announced from the War Memorial stage by General Director David Gockley before the performance. Adler Julie Adams sang First Lady for Jacqueline Piccolino and Kathryn Bowden…

  • 2016 Adler Fellows

    The incoming 2016 Adler Fellows are sopranos Amina Edris and Toni Marie Palmertree; tenor Pene Pati; and bass-baritone Brad Walker. They join current Adlers Julie Adams, Zanda Švēde, Nian Wang, Edward Nelson, Matthew Stump, Anthony Reed, Noah Lindquist, and Ronny Michael Greenberg. The outgoing 2015 Adler Fellows are Jacqueline Piccolino, Maria Valdes, Chong Wang, and…

  • SF Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor

    * Notes * A new production of Lucia di Lammermoor opened last night at San Francisco Opera with local favorite and Adler alum Nadine Sierra in the title role. There was much beautiful singing and playing, but while there were many strong elements in the staging, it didn't add up to a cohesive performance. Sierra cut…

  • Matthew Shilvock Next SF Opera General Director

    Matthew Shilvock (pictured left, photograph by Cory Weaver) has been named General Director of San Francisco Opera and will become the Company's seventh director on August 1, 2016 with a five-year contract through July 2021. Mr. Shilvock is currently SF Opera's Associate General Director since 2010 and has been with the Company since 2005. Press…

  • More SF Opera Fall 2015 Casting Changes

    As rumored, Diana Damrau has withdrawn from San Francisco Opera's upcoming Lucia di Lammermoor, in order to remain on vocal rest for the next six weeks. She is replaced by Nadine Sierra, who in turn will be replaced as Pamina in the first four performances of The Magic Flute by Sarah Shafer. Lucia di Lammermoor…

  • SF Opera’s Sweeney Todd

    * Notes *My review of San Francisco Opera‘s Sweeney Todd is up on KQED Arts. Perhaps I’m not high-brow enough for Sondheim’s work, normally at the opera I am swept off by the music — the drama, though important, tends to be secondary and the words are rarely a concern. I found myself exhausted by focusing…