Vive la France! Donizetti’s late period comic masterpiece, “La Fille du Regiment”, not heard at San Francisco Opera for 16 years, introduced the lively imagination of French producer Laurent Pelly to the War Memorial Opera House. [Below: Marie (Diana Damrau) attends to the 21st Regiment's laundry and ironing; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver [...]
Entries from October 2009
Debuting Diana Damrau Delights as Donizetti Diva: San Francisco “Fille du Regiment” – October 13, 2009
October 15th, 2009
Tags: 2005-2012: William's Reviews
Cornelius Meister’s Admirable “Abduction”: San Francisco Opera – October 11, 2009
October 12th, 2009
During the 65 years that spanned the first three general directorships of the San Francisco Opera, Mozart’s “Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail”, usually translated as “The Abduction from the Seraglio”, was never presented by the main company. Since 1990, it has been mounted in two productions in three separate seasons. The second of these is [...]
Tags: 2005-2012: William's Reviews
Verdi’s New Champion: Nicola Luisotti’s Transformative “Trovatore” – San Francisco Opera, October 4, 2009
October 9th, 2009
Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” was the San Francisco Opera’s choice for the opening night of its 2009-2010 season. It met all of the criteria that any operatic management would hope its season opener would have – a gala cast, each member at the top of his or her form, performing a popular work in a distinguished [...]