Opera

The young singers who have been through the Operaʼs training program are already shining in mainstage productions. With the spotlight focused on them, they showed great poise and maturity.

Mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes makes a strong impression in S.F. Operaʼs revival of Rossiniʼs La Cenerentola.

Iolanthe, or the Peer and the Peri may not be the most famous or most remembered show by Gilbert and Sullivan, but it is one of their best. Lamplighters Music Theatre is, of course, the local specialist in this repertoire.

The Turn of the Screw is one of Benjamin Britten’s tautest, most gripping operas. And, unlike much of the repertoire that the local, small-budget companies take on, this chamber opera is conceived on a scale that emphasizes the virtues of West Edge Opera.

The cast of The Tales of Hoffman is superb: tenor Matthew Polenzani, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn are at the top of their game.

For its final regular season concert, American Bach Soloists will present Handel’s dramatic cantata Apollo e Dafne (1709-1710). 

It’s almost essential to see this production of Little Women at the S.F. Conservatory of Music for anyone planning on seeing the composer/librettist’s latest opus, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, at the S.F. Opera in June.

Bonjour M. Gauguin promises to be one of the most exciting, if strange and avant-garde, operas the West Edge company has ever done. And that’s saying something.

I wouldn’t miss this concert for the world.

When the exciting new music group Alarm Will Sound visits the Bay Area, tickets are normallyhard to find.