Greg Freed

Greg Freed is an opera fan who grew up listening to Met broadcasts in Kentucky and later attended as many performances as possible at Austin Lyric Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and, for 10 years, the Metropolitan, where he occasionally reviewed under the name Maury D'Annato. He currently lives in Oakland, and was Parterre's Bay Area critic (under his own name) for two seasons. His primary vocation is social work, and as such, has spent a decade in sentencing advocacy. Greg loves live recordings of the singers of today and those of yesteryear, with special regard for the contralto Ewa Podles.


The vinyl countdown The vinyl countdown

At one point I spent a couple of months on the dole and dollar record shopping had a number of obvious virtues as a pastime.

on December 15, 2018 at 11:00 AM
Seriously? Right in front of Mycenae? Seriously? Right in front of Mycenae?

You’ve got your “Night in the Museum,”and your “It’s All In Her Head” and your “Pantomimes of Childhood Trauma” and that’s all before halftime.

on September 11, 2017 at 10:01 AM
Stone cold killer Stone cold killer

This may be Karita Mattila’s greatest role.

on June 16, 2016 at 11:43 PM
Four faints in five acts Four faints in five acts

That little place just two hours from the city is on the list of things I shall never understand, like the plot of Parsifal.

on June 15, 2016 at 9:23 AM
Incomplete mountain pass Incomplete mountain pass

The big news on Van Ness Avenue, it goes without saying, is Calixto Bieito’s operatic debut on these shores.

on May 29, 2016 at 12:15 PM
Busyness as usual Busyness as usual

Emilio Sagi’s production of The Barber of Seville is ungepotchket in the flesh.

on November 28, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Wahn for a day Wahn for a day

Die Meistersinger is a bold stroke of programming, in a not particularly exciting way.

on November 24, 2015 at 10:00 AM
Pa-Pa-Pa-Planter’s Punch Pa-Pa-Pa-Planter’s Punch

With a primary color, projection-heavy English-language Magic Flute that’s going to feel like a matinee whenever you see it, the SFO season has lived up to its initial promise.

on October 27, 2015 at 9:00 AM
All my Edgardos All my Edgardos

Well that’s a terrible place to start a review, and it’s not quite fair to SFO’s Lucia di Lammermoor, but…

on October 10, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Out here in the dark Out here in the dark

This is the tenth season of the Met’s HD broadcasts, not that I would know it.

on October 05, 2015 at 11:29 AM
Leave it to cleaver Leave it to cleaver

If I’d gotten an hour less sleep you’d now find me mixing everything up and writing about Mrs. Lovett making her entrance on a bronze horse like Peter the Great.

on September 15, 2015 at 11:00 AM
Stop me if you’ve heard this one Stop me if you’ve heard this one

Gala this; gala that; who knew rich people wore clothes so badly?

on September 12, 2015 at 6:12 PM
Warhorse Warhorse

Three blocks from the opera house is a terrible time to realize there was homework.

on June 22, 2015 at 1:32 PM
Married to the mobcap Married to the mobcap

I have an idea (soon to be angrily debunked in the comments section) that Le nozze di Figaro is rarely a source of unalloyed bliss to the chronic operagoer.

on June 16, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Fou fighter Fou fighter

It is easy to become overly identified with opera—as a cleverer friend of mine once noted: being a sports fan is an interest, but if you like opera, everyone thinks of it as a crippling obsession.

on June 09, 2015 at 1:44 PM
When I am down to earth When I am down to earth

What does it mean anyway to get to know a diva, and why exactly would we wish to do such a thing?

on January 16, 2015 at 2:41 PM
The opposite sextoness The opposite sextoness

The San Francisco Opera has just done the big reveal for 2015-2016 and here’s what we have in store.

on January 07, 2015 at 5:23 PM
The year in Greg The year in Greg

I would love to contribute a top ten list but I didn’t even go to ten things this year.

on December 31, 2014 at 9:53 AM
La vie de broham La vie de broham

Imagine the good fortune of attending La Bohème with someone who’s never seen it!

on November 15, 2014 at 3:50 PM
Angelina’s ashes Angelina’s ashes

Kitsch is alive and well in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the War Memorial.

on November 11, 2014 at 12:57 AM
Vissi d’artist Vissi d’artist

The San Francisco Opera is batting a thousand where young singers are concerned this season.

on October 24, 2014 at 2:09 PM
Top hatters Top hatters

Christopher Alden‘s production of Handel’s Partenope is so erudite and theatrically audacious and also such a rollicking ride, it’s hard to believe it isn’t crap.

on October 16, 2014 at 5:46 PM
Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome

The big news out of the Bay this week, of course, is that David Gockley, after ten years at the helm here and over forty in opera, has decided not to pull a Bloomberg/Galupe-Borszkh.

on October 05, 2014 at 5:51 PM
Running, jumping, or burning Gaul Running, jumping, or burning Gaul

Far be it from me to join the Schadenfreudian chorus of “Bye, Bye, Berti!” you may have been hearing in certain quarters, but the first thing I am duty-bound to report about San Francisco Opera’s Norma (of which three performances remain) is that they’ve hit the jackpot, coverwise.

on September 21, 2014 at 2:57 AM
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