Opera Warhorses

An important milestone in soprano Leyla Gencer’s distinguished career occurred at age 28, when in 1956 she debuted at the San Francisco Opera, substituting for Renata Tebaldi in the title role of Zandonai’s “Francesca da Rimini”, once a great verismo hit that even in the 1950s had become a rarity. She was invited back in [...]

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When purchasing a ticket for an opera, the opera company’s often includes the statement that “casts and operas are subject to change”. Over time, opera goers inevitably will experience cast changes, such as I did earlier this year at Houston’s “Faust” (see my review elsewhere on this website). But how often does an opera company [...]

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Leonie Rysanek, in the second of four seasons that she performed with the San Francisco Opera in the last half-decade of the 1950s, introduced Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” to Los Angeles at its famous 6500-seat behemoth, the Shrine Auditorium. “Ariadne” was one of two new productions designed for Rysanek to premiere the two most [...]

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