The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: San Francisco Opera
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As threatened, I've finally gotten around to combining opera and cupcakes. This is a depiction of Act II Scene 2 of the Simon Boccanegra that opened the San Francisco Opera season. I'll have you know that it took longer to write out those few bars of music than to paint the rest of the scene…
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* Notes * San Francisco Opera's bluegrass band The Opera Dukes played at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass yesterday. The singers included former and current Adler Fellows Matthew O'Neill, Jeremy Galyon, Heidi Melton, Daniela Mack, along with General Director David Gockley. They were accompanied by bandleader O'Neill himself on guitar, Craig Reiss (violin), Jonathan Lancelle (bass),…
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* Notes * The fourth performance of Die Tote Stadt was actually fairly well-attended, though there was noticeable audience attrition after intermission. The set was moved around more quietly and no speaking was heard from backstage, not even from Box Y. It was easier to appreciate how well all the Adler Fellows did from…
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If one had a burning desire to hear San Francisco Opera's General Director David Gockley sing, one might head over to the Porch Stage of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass concert tomorrow at 3:20pm. As an added bonus, all the hipsters will be over at the Rooster Stage hearing Iron & Wine, and thus can easily…
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Before I forget, La Fille du Régiment was mentioned as an opera to be performed at San Francisco Opera in the next few years. Also, William Friedkin is to work on a La Scala/San Francisco Opera co-production of Mefistofele. Earlier this year we heard that Peter Grimes, La Fanciulla del West, Il Trovatore, Il Trittico,…
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* Notes * The season opener, Simon Boccanegra, closed at San Francisco Opera last night. The first half still remained somewhat unfocused, but the second half did come together nicely. The chorus and the orchestra were synchronized. Vitalij Kowaljow (Jacopo Fiesco) and Patrick Carfizzi (Paolo Albiani) were consistently strong. Marcus Haddock was less stiff as Gabriele, and he…
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* Notes * The second performance of Die Tote Stadt at San Francisco Opera only served to solidify my opinion on this work, which surely deserves to be part of the standard repertoire. Willy Decker's production, directed by Meisje Hummel in this revival, has its own complete conception and is consistent throughout. Instead of trying…
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* Notes * Nearly 88 years after the world premiere, Die Tote Stadt finally opened in San Francisco yesterday evening. The work is certainly a very pretty synthesis of Wagner, Strauss, and Puccini. It is nostalgic, but also prefigures Korngold's work in film scores. The music sounded effortless under the direction of Donald Runnicles, the…
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Production Web Site | Press Photographs Reviews of San Francisco Opera's 2008 Performances: The Opera Tattler | Civic Center | The Reverberate Hills | Out West Arts | SFist | San Francisco Chronicle | San Francisco Classical Voice | San Jose Mercury News | Los Angeles Times | New York Times | Financial Times | Wiener Zeitung (Auf Deutsch) Thoughts on the Final Dress: The Opera Tattler | The Standing Room
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