Opera

Heuwell Tircuit - July 20, 2009

Levelheaded dedication flashed on Friday evening at the San Francisco Conservatory’s concert hall, as conductor George Cleve opened this season’s Midsummer Mozart Festival with a display of brilliance. If anything, it all went to prove how much variety Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart produced in his all-too-short lifetime.

James Keolker - July 13, 2009

Everything about Puccini’s opera Turandot is big: big orchestra, big voices, big chorus, enormous sets, and massive emotions. So it is daring for a company the size of Festival Opera to undertake such a giant. But no need to worry, for this is a triumphant Turandot.

Janos Gereben - July 6, 2009
Most “one-opera composers” are not. They are known for a single work in the theater, but it’s not for lack of trying.
Jason Victor Serinus - June 30, 2009

What a difference a change of principals can make. Instead of the overhyped Anna Netrebko, who, as Violetta in the first five performances of San Francisco Opera’s production of Verdi’s La traviata, simplified her coloratura, shunned the much-anticipated E-flat at the end of a hardly free “Sempre libera” (Forever free), and mostly scratched the surface of her role, we now have the alive-in-the-moment soprano of Elizabeth Futral.

Chelsea Nicole Spangler - June 23, 2009
Baby Doe Tabor
Since 1979, the Berkeley Opera has presented accessible, affordable productions in the East Bay.
Georgia Rowe - June 18, 2009
When an opera company’s mission is to give young singers, conductors and directors opportunities to explore the repertoire, Puccini is always a good place to start. Throughout its 18 seasons, Festival Opera has scored numerous hits with productions of the composer’s La Bohéme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Suor Angelica.
Catherine Getches - June 16, 2009
“It is somewhat unexpected when a small company like Festival Opera takes on a very grand opera like Turandot. The size of the piece and the enormous role of the chorus make it a challenge,” says Artistic Director Michael Morgan.
Olivia Stapp - June 15, 2009

The San Francisco Opera’s new Traviata is a dazzling affair.

Janos Gereben - June 10, 2009

It's a long way from Catfish Row to Walhalla, but my money is on Eric Owens traversing the distance.

James Keolker - June 3, 2009
Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca has a fabled past at San Francisco Opera, with some 34 highly successful productions in the company’s 86-year history, and starring such imperious Toscas as Renata Tebaldi, Dorothy Kirsten, Leontyne Price, and Montserrat Caballé.