Opera Warhorses

San Francisco Opera’s mounting of the first opera in Francesca Zambello’s “American Ring” proved to be an extraordinary experience for admirers of the Wagnerian tetralogy.  It brought together all of the essential elements to meet the requirements of a world class Wagnerian performance.  The first element, and S. F. Opera’s most striking achievement, is an almost uniformly [...]

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This is the 30th anniversary of San Francisco Opera’s first foray into the operas of George Frideric Handel. The San Francisco Handel productions, particularly those associated with British stage director John Copley, have often defined elegance in the performance of baroque opera, with lavish costumes and singing of the highest quality.
[Below left: Ariodante (Susan Graham) kneels [...]

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We are now well into the “Puccini Year” whose high point will be the observance of the 150th anniversary of Puccini’s birth on the 22nd of December. A consequence of the celebrations is a new appreciation for the hitherto less popular works of the Tuscan master.  For example, there has been sufficient interest in his “La Rondine” to [...]

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