Wagner thought that if one opera of his four-opera “Ring of the Niebelungs” 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: 2005-2008: 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: 2005-2008: William's Commentaries
Deconstructing S.F. Opera’s Super-sized “Barber” - November 12, 2006
December 17th, 2006
Previously, this website has suggested that, as the footprints of former San Francisco Opera General Director Pamela Rosenberg are washed away over time, the only souvenir of her controversial stewardship may be the world’s largest production of Rossini’s “Barbiere di Siviglia” ever conceived. Would that this souvenir never existed, and that some spectacular souvenir productions from the [...]