The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Uncategorized
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* Notes * The Monkey King (Act I pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) had a world premiere last night at San Francisco Opera. Composed by Huang Ruo and with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, this new opera is a spectacular piece of theater. Director Diane Paulus’ production features puppetry, projections, and dancing. Basil Twist’s…
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* Notes * Last night was the fifth and final performance of Parsifal at San Francisco Opera. I attended in balcony standing room and the sound of the orchestra under Maestra Eun Sun Kim was better than ever, lucid and shimmering. The chorus is likewise very powerful and together. The singing was strong though tenor…
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* Notes * Yesterday evening I went to the fourth performance of San Francisco Opera’s Parsifal San Francisco Opera and read the score in standing room. The way Maestra Eun Sun Kim has set up the strings is novel, she has the violins in the middle, the cellos on the outside to her left, and…
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* Notes * The third performance of Parsifal (Act III, Scene 1 pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) San Francisco Opera was yesterday afternoon. I was lucky enough to attend this opera in Box Z, which is pretty much as close as one can get to the stage. Again, new details revealed themselves, and as always,…
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* Notes * The Fall concert for San Francisco Opera was held last night. It was lovely to hear the orchestra (pictured, photograph by Matthew Washburn) front and center under the baton of Maestra Eun Sun Kim. The sound was clear and buoyant throughout the program of Manuel de Falla and Beethoven. Beethoven’s Fifth was…
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The incoming 2026 Adler Fellows are soprano Sofia Gotch (Oakland, California), mezzo-soprano Sadie Cheslak (Duluth, Minnesota), and baritone Gabriel Natal-Báez (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico). Soprano Mary Hoskins (Saratoga Springs, Utah), coach/pianist Ji Youn Lee (Seoul, South Korea), and baritone Olivier Zerouali (Middletown, Delaware continue in the program as second-year fellows while tenor Thomas Kinch (Cardiff,…
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* Notes * The second performance of Parsifal (Act I, Scene 2 pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) San Francisco Opera last night. It was interesting to experience this opera from the orchestra level, I was better able to appreciate the details of the production. Also the orchestra sounded even better than the previous two times…
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A Children’s Opera About Space * Notes * Opera Parallèle held the world premiere of Hello, Star (pictured, photograph by Stefan Cohen) an earnest chamber opera for children by composer Carla Lucero and librettist Jarrod Lee last weekend. Music director Nicole Paiement had the tiny orchestra of nine people sounding utterly crystalline and beautiful. Based…
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* Notes * Parsifal (Act II, Scene 1 pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) returned to San Francisco Opera’s War Memorial Opera Stage after an absence of twenty-five years yesterday afternoon. There was much strong singing from principals and chorus alike, but best of all was the orchestra helmed by Eun Sun Kim. The new production…
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* Notes * Continuing the celebration of composer Avro Pärt’s 90th birthday, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (pictured, photograph by Kaupo Kikkas) and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra performed his works at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall yesterday evening. Led by Tõnu Kaljuste, these vocal pieces in a more intimate space were striking. Maestro Kaljuste did not…
The Opera Tattler 