The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Uncategorized
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* Notes * Rinaldo (ovation pictured, photograph by author) opened at West Edge Opera on August 2 in a pop-art superhero staging that was so much fun. The orchestra was a bit rough, but the beauty of Händel’s music came through, especially because the singing was lovely. Keturah Stickann directed this very silly production that…
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* Notes * Last Thursday the Merola Opera Program presented an absolutely charming rendition of Ariadne auf Naxos (soprano Abigail Raiford as Echo, soprano Jennifer Robinson as Nyade, soprano Adia Evans as Prima Donna/Ariadne, and mezzo-soprano Katherine Dobbs as Dryade pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The playing, acting,…
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* Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra gave semi-staged performances of Tolomeo (Dashon Burton, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Lauren Snouffer, Kangmin Justin Kim, and Nicole Heaston pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) starting last Thursday at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Music Director Peter Whelan chose to have the orchestra behind the singers, which led to some synchronization…
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* Notes * Merola Opera Program continued the summer season with La Tragédie de Carmen (soprano Anna Thompson as Micaëla and mezzo-soprano Ariana Maubach as Carmen pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) on Thursday at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. This reimagining of Bizet’s Carmen by Peter Bronk is concise and provocative. The singing was…
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* Notes * Merola presented a charming evening of Neapolitan-inspired songs entitled “L’Anima Napoletana” (tenor Chester Seungyup Han and soprano Shannon Crowley pictured, photograph by Kristen Loken) on Thursday at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The young singers all have a lot of power and conveyed emotions of the texts with ease. The recital,…
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* Notes * A staged production of Alcina (Nikola Printz and Courtney Miller pictured, photograph by Stefan Cohen) opened at Festival Opera in Walnut Creek on Friday evening. The singers were all perfectly cast and the playing clean and neat The Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts is a good fit for…
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* Notes * An impressive revival of Elektra (pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened at San Francisco Opera on Sunday afternoon. The orchestra sounded lush but clear under the baton of Maestra Eun Sun Kim and the singing was stellar. The opera is situated in a museum of Ancient Greek artifacts juxtaposed with different scenes…
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* Notes * The Barber of Seville (finale pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) was performed for the third time this summer at San Francisco Opera. It was fascinating to hear the first cast, which I missed last week. The singers are so different and it is such a joy to hear the various interpretations of…
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* Notes * The summer season of San Francisco Opera opened with a busy production of The Barber of Seville last week, with an alternate cast that performed yesterday. The proceedings under Maestro Benjamin Manis were a bit messy, with some synchronization issues between the orchestra and the singers. Emilio Sagi’s very bright 2013 production…
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* Notes *Opera Parallèle gave the world premiere of the chamber version of Douglas J. Cuomo’s Doubt last night in San Francisco. The playing and singing were all up to the very fine standards of this company. Based on John Patrick Shanley’s play of the same name, the libretto, also by the same author, is…
The Opera Tattler 