Reviews

A recital of wind quintet pieces that ought to have enticed seems hampered by inconsistent execution and odd programming choices.

Thomas Hampson got young S.F. Conservatory singers to dig deeper into themselves and reveal the character behind the aria.

Mark Morris' Dido and Aeneas was a treat for both eye and ear in its return to Cal Performances Friday night in Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall. And the star of the performance was Morris.

Dance music from Rameau’s operas never bores, and always glitters. Concert des Nations plays its heart out for conductor Jordi Savall in these excerpts.

It has been 20 years since one of the best-regarded modern cello concertos has been played here. And it took the same wizard, Yo-Yo Ma, who played it then to show us now how to do it right; matched by MTT and the S.F. Symphony for quality in a spectacular evening of all-German repertoire.

Concerts around the Bay Area often achieve an incredibly high quality. We should go to more of them, to experience things outside our comfort zone.

Opera San José’s sumptuous new production of Idomeneo marks a step forward for the South Bay company.

Like a well-trained infantryperson, Heart of a Soldier
triumphed in its first battle with opera’s ultimate enemy, public
indifference: Patrons greeted the premiere in the War Memorial Opera
House with a sustained standing ovation.

In a striking production of Turandot the S.F. Opera and cast more than fulfill the promise of greatness.

A superb conductor leads a knockout cast in Rossini’s final opera, replete with his typical vocal fireworks.