Reviews

How can a critic fully convey the scope of Cecilia Bartoli’s magnificent artistry without running out of superlatives?

Symphony programs often resemble three-ring circuses, organized in time rather than space. In the first ring, the symphony offers an overture or similar fare to whet your aural appetite. Then, in the center ring, comes the main attraction, usually a soloist displaying his chops in a concerto or other showpiece.

Even in these tough economic times, the Bay Area’s regional opera companies continue to spread their wings. Midway through its 53rd season, West Bay Opera presented its first Orfeo ed Euridice last weekend in a well-conceived production that caught much of the radiant splendor of Gluck’s 1762 masterpiece.

While he was alive, Max Reger enjoyed considerable popularity as a composer of chamber and orchestral works, but since his untimely death in 1916, he has been sparsely represented in concert halls. Not so with his organ music.

For those of an eclectic bent, pianist Ivan Ilić’s Friday recital at San Francisco’s Old First Church proved a delight. The program was an adventure in learning as well as a brilliant display of technical prowess, all free of clichés.

Classical music has had a few notable sibling acts in its history. Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart toured as duo pianists; violinist Yehudi and pianist Hephzibah Menuhin performed recitals together.

We Bay Area concertgoers see a fair number of visiting soloists, but they tend to come playing with either our orchestras or their own accompanists. Violinist Julia Fischer has been here several times before — twice with the San Francisco Symphony, once with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, once in recital, and always as the star attraction.

Ballet aspires to the otherworldly. The dancer on the tips of her toes seems freed from the constraints of gravity: able to spin unrestrainedly, to move like quicksilver or a cloud. The ballerina’s partner helps her escape the earth’s physical confinements, allowing her to take flight. The male dancer’s great leaps seem to suspend him in midair.