* Notes * Don Giovanni, the last installment of the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy directed by Michael Cavanagh, opened yesterday evening at San Francisco Opera. It was a joy to hear Maestro Bertrand de Billy conduct this beautiful music and there... Continue reading

* Notes * Last month Pocket Opera put on three performances of Wagner's No Love Allowed (Das Liebesverbot). I attended the delightful May 15 matinée at the Hillside Club in Berkeley. The English language production had a lot of charm... Continue reading

* Notes * Last night the Emerson String Quartet (pictured, photograph by Jürgen Frank) played at Herbst Theatre as the penultimate show in the 2021-2022 season at SF Performances. The performance started with an absolutely lovely String Quartet No. 2... Continue reading

* Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and new Music Director Richard Egarr (pictured) ended the 2021-2022 season with Händel's Radamisto last weekend at the Bing Concert Hall on the Stanford campus. The intimate venue proved unflattering, though there certainly was... Continue reading

* Notes * West Side Story (Act I pictured, photograph by David Allen) opened at Opera San José last night in a sleek and effective production from director Crystal Manich. It was wonderful to hear Leonard Bernstein's music live with... Continue reading

September 10–25 2022: Le Nozze di Figaro November 12–27 2022: Alma Deutscher's Cinderella February 11–26 2023: Falstaff April 15–30 2023: Tosca Today new General Director Shawna Lucey (pictured, photograph by David Allen) announced Opera San José's next season, which includes... Continue reading

Sopranos Amanda Batista, Manchester, New Jersey Adia Evans, Baltimore, Maryland Maggie Kinabrew, West Hartford, Connecticut Chelsea Lehnea, Chattanooga, Tennessee Celeste Morales, San Antonio, Texas Olivia Prendergast, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ashley Marie Robillard, Norton, Massachusetts Arianna Rodriguez, Fairfax, Virginia Olivia Smith, Penticton,... Continue reading

October 20-23 2022: Händel's Theodora November 16-20 2022: Vaudeville Baroque with Nicholas McGegan December 14-18 2022: Händel's Messiah February 9-12 2023: Saint-Saëns' Concerto for Violoncello No. 1 and 2 with Steven Isserlis, Brahm's Symphony No. 2 March 25-31 2023: Mozart's... Continue reading

* Notes * I was so pleased to be able to hear Opera Parallèle's latest offering, Sophia's Forest by Lembit Beecher, yesterday evening at Grace Cathedral. This 2017 chamber opera deals with the trauma of a nine-year-old immigrant child and... Continue reading

September 27- October 28 2022: Medea September 28- October 20 2022: Idomeneo September 29- October 21 2022: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk October 4 2022- April 15 2023: Tosca October 16- November 12 2022: Peter Grimes October 25 2022- March 18... Continue reading

* Notes * A colorful production of Carmen opened at Opera San José last weekend with a sharp cast. Director Lillian Groag's staging is lively with supernumeraries and flamenco dancers. Music Director Joseph Marcheso kept the orchestra fairly neat, only... Continue reading

September 9 2022: Opera Ball: The Centennial Celebration with Nadine Sierra, Michael Fabiano, Pene Pati, Lucas Meachem, and Eun Sun Kim September 10–October 5 2022: John Adams' Antony and Cleopatra September 25–October 14 2022: Eugene Onegin October 15–30 2022: Dialogues... Continue reading

* Notes * San Francisco Opera's training program, Merola, held another virtual recital for the holidays via Vimeo with pianist James Harp, soprano Amber R. Monroe, tenor Edward Graves, and bass Kevin Thompson. I watched right when it was released... Continue reading

* Notes * The San Francisco Opera Chorus is sending off its Chorus Director Ian Robertson (pictured with the chorus, photograph by Matthew Washburn) with two sold-out concerts at the Atrium Theater this weekend. Robertson is ending his distinguished 35-season... Continue reading

The incoming 2022 Adler Fellows are soprano Mikayla Sager, mezzo-soprano Gabrielle Beteag, tenors Victor Cardamone and Edward Graves; and apprentice coach Marika Yasuda. They join current Adlers sopranos Anne-Marie MacIntosh, Elisa Sunshine, and Esther Tonea; mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh, baritone Timothy... Continue reading

* Notes * Così fan tutte (Act I pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver), the second installment of the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy directed by Michael Cavanagh, opened at San Francisco Opera last weekend. The second performance was Tuesday night, there was... Continue reading

* Notes * The inimitable Ars Minerva is presenting the North American premiere of Carlo Pallavicino's Messalina this weekend at ODC Theater in San Francisco. The Saturday performance was a raucous romp through the Roman imperial court around 47 CE... Continue reading

* Notes * Opera San José has returned to the California Theatre last night with a beautifully cast Dido and Aeneas. Director Elkhanah Pulitzer's new production is likewise attractive. Music Director Joseph Marcheso conducted a reduced version of the orchestra... Continue reading