All about her father
Adela Zaharia and Amartuvshin Enkhbat shine brightly in San Francisco Opera’s opening night Rigoletto.
John Keene
18 pieces since 2022 — at 1 company, most often at San Francisco Opera.
18
pieces
1
company
5
years
By company
Sea no evil
A muted production challenges a talented cast in San Francisco Opera’s Idomeneo
It takes a woman
The plight of two women, each from different backgrounds, was on full display in San Francisco opera houses last week.
Non son l’umile ancella
“[W]omen are interesting and important in real life. They are not an afterthought of nature, they are not secondary players in human destiny, and every society has always known that.” — Margaret Atwood, February 2017
It’s going to be a lovely party
Overall, this was a superb achievement and a thrilling season opener for the San Francisco Opera.
Psychological projections
“The distance between dreams and reality is called action.” – Brian Tracy
The age of Innocence
The score for Innocence was menacing yet comforting, and, essentially, violent and peaceful at the same time
Love potion no. 8 1/2
A perfect escape for a city laden with recent layoffs and job cuts coming into Holiday season
Scholarly pursuits
“What would you do if the world you knew was suddenly gone and you were thrown into the deepest abyss stripped of all humanity? Would you fight to remember who you were?”
Swan’s weh
All in all, this was truly a superb achievement for San Francisco Opera and an auspicious first chapter in the Wagner opera journey with Eun Sun Kim.
Think different
Bay Area composer Mason Bates’s and librettist Mark Campbell’s contemporary opera about the life of the tech mogul Steve Jobs came home “to the place where it all began” in spectacular fashion
Got to get you into my strife
Power struggles, prejudice, feuds and revenge abound in San Francisco at the moment.
Looking for Trouble
The ailing and grief-stricken Pinkerton was shown to give his son a diary about his time in Nagasaki, and as Trouble read it, he (and the audience) was taken back in time as the story came to life, similar to the use of Pensieve in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4).
Return of the Merolini
On June 16, San Francisco Opera concluded their excellent Centennial Season with a heartfelt 100th Anniversary Concert, featuring a starry cast, three conductors (including current and former Music Directors) and the SF Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Returning to the Living World
“I joyfully await the exit—and I hope never to return” were the last words written by the visionary Mexican painter, Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (famously known simply as Frida Kahlo), according to her 2002 biography by Hayden Herrera.
Good grief
There are no words superlative enough to describe this celebration of Orpheus’ grief, and I truly applaud San Francisco Opera for presenting such food for thought that will definitely resonate long after with me.
The Verdi thing
On Thursday June 30th, San Francisco Opera closed their summer season with a one-night-only special concert celebrating Eun Sun Kim’s first season as the Caroline H. Hume Music Director, in an aptly named concert “Eun Sun Kim Conducts Verdi.”
Those monsters look like us
“This used to be a funhouse… but now it’s full of evil clowns / It’s time to start the countdown…. I’m gonna burn it down”
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
