Wagner thought that if one opera of his four-opera “Ring of the Nibelungs” would be performed separately from the other three in the series, it would be “Siegfried”. He, of course, was wrong about this. “Die Walkuere”, perhaps because of the its popular third act “Ride of the Valkyrs”, and certainly for its lusciously written [...]
Entries from December 2006
Kirov’s “Siegfried” Slays Dragon, Conquers Orange County – October 9, 2006
December 29th, 2006
Tags: 2005-2012: William's Reviews
Grading Gockley’s First Year in S. F.
December 20th, 2006
David Gockley assumed the general directorship of the San Francisco Opera in the middle of the 2005-06 season, when three operas were still do be performed in the 2006 “summer season”. This was earlier than originally announced, but his predecessor, the embattled Pamela Rosenberg, announced that she “missed her grandchildren in Germany” and would depart [...]
Tags: 2005-2012: William's Commentaries
Adler Fellow Eugene Brancoveanu: An Appreciation
December 17th, 2006
[The following tribute to Adler Fellow Eugene Brancoveanu complements my review of the 2006 performances of the San Francisco Opera production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville".] Piano, pianissimo senza parlar The first words of “Barbiere” are sung by Almaviva’s henchman, Fiorello. Before I get into the main body of the performance critique (see: Deconstructing S.F. Opera’s [...]