San Francisco Opera Presents Wagner's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE
San Francisco Opera will present Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) from October 19–November 5 under the baton of Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim who leads this monumental work for the first time.
Review: JEN®FA, London Coliseum
Opera is not short of stories where women are violated and abandoned by the men in their lives but Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa is an especially cruel tale.
Review: Another BALLO, Another Peculiar Reinvention, at Barcelona's Liceu, under Riccardo Frizza
UN BALLO IN MASCHERA—A MASKED BALL—certainly makes for a juicy opera, on paper at least. It has a plot filled with passion, jealousy and conspiracies, and a score by Giuseppe Verdi that has some of his most memorable music, including a great duet, plus unforgettable arias for soprano, tenor and baritone, and some first-rate music for secondary characters (Ulrica the fortune teller and Oscar the pants-role page) and chorus. The production at Barcelona’s gorgeous Grand Liceu Theatre didn’t stint on the resources for the cast and Verdi sounded as good as he should under conductor Riccardo Frizza with the company’s orchestra and chorus in fine form.
Review: Met Revival of BALLO IN MASCHERA Opens in Alden Production
One of the troubles of being a major institution like the Met is that when they produce a new production of a major opera--and Verdi’s UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, which opened in revival the other night, certainly falls into that category--it’s an expensive undertaking. It's true that sometimes a production can be pulled out of its death tumble, with a new cast or simply time making the absolutely awful suddenly make sense. In the case of the current run of the opera, with Angela Meade, Charles Castronovo and Quinn Kelsey heading the cast, even good and sometimes inspired singing can’t save the day. Alden’s take is simply too laden with concept for it to breathe.
Wagner's LOHENGRIN Comes to San Francisco Opera in October
San Francisco Opera presents Richard Wagner's Lohengrin from October 15–November 1 in director David Alden's staging, a co-production of London's Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Antwerp's Opera Vlaanderen. Learn more about the opera here!
PETER GRIMES Will Open English National Opera 2023/24 Season
This September, opening the 2023/24 Season at the London Coliseum, the English National Opera (ENO) presents Benjamin Britten’s searing psychological drama, Peter Grimes. David Alden’s production returns for its second revival. Following its premiere in 2009, this production won a South Bank Sky Arts Award in the Opera category.
San Francisco Opera Launches its 101st Season Next Month
San Francisco Opera launches its second century on Friday, September 8 with Opera Ball and an Opening Night Concert featuring Caroline H. Hume Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducting soloists Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
BWW Review: LOHENGRIN, Royal Opera House
Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin may be famous for introducing the tune of “Here Comes The Bride” to the world but there’s much more here in this stirring tale. David Alden’s bold production debuted in 2018 to critical fanfare and now returns to the Royal Opera House with some excellent leads and immersive flourishes.
ARIODANTE Begins Performances At Bolshoi Theatre
ARIODANTE beings performances today at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. The premiere of the production took place at the English National Opera in 1993. The staging is a co-production with Welsh National Opera. The performance is presented with two intervals and sung in Italian.