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.
18 comments
Sponsored
Advertise on parterre box!
parterre box, “the most essential blog in opera” (New York Times), is now booking display and sponsored content advertising for spring and summer 2023. Join Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Warner Classics and many others in reaching your target audience through parterre box.
San Francisco Opera has unveiled a brand-new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s warhorse classic La traviata, the first “to be built in San Francisco Opera’s scene and costume shops in 35 years.”
“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays” – Soren Kierkegaard
Robert Carsen‘s legendary production of Eugene Onegin finally arrives in San Francisco.
Antony and Cleopatra was an auspicious start to San Francisco Opera’s second century, a performance that seems to improve as I continue to think about it.
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.”
The second act of Dream of the Red Chamber reached the apex and provided the audience with soul-stirring fulfillment.
“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”
In San Francisco Opera’s new Così fan tutte, the elements that most visibly read as “American” were a penchant for slapstick humor, overcooked blocking, and an abundance of cartoonish period costumes that hobbled the opera’s first act.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s “rescue opera” Fidelio was presented by San Francisco Opera as their first new production of the season last Thursday in reinterpreted fashion.
After the break the ladies stepped up their game so much that it elevated the night into legendary status: definitely one for the books!
The San Francisco Opera became the first US opera company to present a full-blown production indoors on its home turf this season when they ushered the US opera audience into 2021-22 Season on Saturday September 21 with a stellar performance of Giacomo Puccini’s perennial favorite Tosca.
San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago have announced the cancellation of their respective 2020 fall seasons.
By La Cieca
Eun Sun Kim has been appointed the Caroline H. Hume Music Director of San Francisco Opera, effective August 1, 2021.
By La Cieca
Bring your family: This show is special! Such perfect opera is hard to find!
The San Francisco Opera, perhaps incidentally, continued their exploration of operas based on literary works by mounting the revival of Giacomo Puccini’s first success, Manon Lescaut.
How does one make a performance of standard opera repertoire like Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro feel “fresh?”
From the technical standpoint San Francisco Opera’s Billy Budd was pretty much flawless.
Politics and romance entangled in a spectacular fashion at San Francisco Operas’s Roméo et Juliette.
La Cieca is informed that the opening night of San Francisco Opera’s Roméo et Juliette was delayed by an “Impeach Trump” demonstration, with hundreds of flyers dropped into the auditorium.
By La Cieca
Pene Pati, originally scheduled to sing Romeo on October 1, will perform the role in all performances, replacing Bryan Hymel who has withdrawn for personal reasons.
By La Cieca
Saturday August 17 the Merola Opera Program wrapped up its annual Summer Festival with the Merola Grand Finale concert at the War Memorial Opera House.
“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.
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” went the introduction to the 1940s radio program The Shadow, an apt description for the San Francisco Opera’s production of Rusalka.
