A barrel of laughs
Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer‘s bubbly The Judgement of Paris brings a distinctly Californian terroir to operatic comedy.
Gene Scheer
16 pieces since 2015 — at 2 companies, most often at San Francisco Opera.
16
pieces
2
companies
12
years
By company
A favorite art song performance from Andrew Lokay
Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton’s rendition of Jake Heggie‘s “Winged Victory: We’re Through,” vividly captures the song’s humor and energy.
Oh, Mary Jane!
Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s Grammy-winning Intelligence makes a largely successful East Coast debut at Virginia Opera.
Storybored
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was, somehow, a fun night at the opera—just not one that felt specifically operatic.
Novel ideas
Carmen Paddock looks at contemporary opera’s prestige literary turn and what it takes for operas adopted from novels to last.
Third leg
The term “narrative prosthesis” refers to the tendency for works of literature to use disability as the conflict upon which the whole narrative hinges. Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick is a quintessential example of “narrative prosthesis.”
Purple pros
On Friday, June 21st, Opera Parallèle – the Bay Area nomadic, contemporary opera company – together with the Presidio Theatre unveiled their final production of the season, the West Coast premiere of Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers, an adaptation of Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel of the same name.
Monuments man
It has been a great season for prolific Bay Area composer Jake Heggie.
Fully immersive
Now the opera world can have a taste of what an immersive opera looks like, as Opera Parallèle opened their spectacular world premiere of Everest: An Immersive Experience .
Making her garden grown
Joyce DiDonato admits that she is “a problem solver, a dreamer, and—yes I’m a belligerent optimist.”
Standing woman
It struck me that Jamie Barton’s voice is not dissimilar to a Henry Moore sculpture: grand and monumental but never brash or ostentatious; eccentric and offbeat but always graceful and tastefully molded.
Dream a little dream of me
“Who are you? Who do you want to be?” The search for one’s identity is explored in American composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer’s brand new opera If I Were You.
It’s a wonderful opera
There comes a time where everything falls into place, and more importantly, when your head and heart are also in the right mindset. That’s when when the opera becomes cathartic, life-changing experience.
Peak performance
“Trove Thursday” ushers in February with Catalani’s La Wally with a mountain-top cast of Renata Tebaldi, Renata Scotto, Mario del Monaco, Giangiacomo Guelfi and Giorgio Tozzi conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini.
When this cruel war is over
Jarrett Ott is a star. That is the only surprise takeaway from the well-intended snore, Cold Mountain.
Consider the subtleness of the sea
Hopefully the assignment of Herman Melville’s endless whaling opus Moby-Dick as compulsory reading for High School students is a thing of the past.