Opera Warhorses

In the past 12 months, two of California’s opera companies each presented new productions of Wagner’s “Tannhauser”. Each production was based on radical story line re-conceptualizations by controversial theatrical innovators Ian Judge (Los Angeles Opera) and Graham Vick (San Francisco Opera). To open its 2008 season, the San Diego Opera revealed a production that was [...]

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Conductor James Conlon led the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra in a passionate reading of Wagner’s masterwork, “Tristan und Isolde”. This was the third time that David Hockney’s colorful production (1987) of the great Romantic music drama was presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the L. A. Opera’s home. It was also seen in October 2006 [...]

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As noted in my post, “In Quest of Donizetti - A 2007-08 Itinerary”, whose hyperlink may be found below,  it is now over 50 years since the Donizetti Revival, the re-evaluation of the works of bel canto composer, Gaetano Donizetti, began. A number of famous artists contributed to that revival - Maria Callas (an early [...]

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