Lavish sets and costumes notwithstanding, this production is, musically, a mixed bag.
Suzanne WeissMusicSan Francisco,
“La Traviata,” that quintessential tale of a Parisian courtesan-with-a-heart-of-gold-except-she-dies-of-consumption-at-the-end, is one of Verdi’s most beautiful and beloved operas. That’s the first reason to go and see the revival at San Francisco Opera. The second is the production, originally directed by ...
Emily S. MendelArt & ArchitectureCA,
While the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington. D. C. is being renovated, the de Young Museum is the fortunate venue of the outstanding modern art collection donated by real estate developer, Robert Meyerhoff and his ...
This talky bio-performance on Leonard Bernstein can't escape a seen-one, seen-'em-all aspect.
Suzanne WeissTheaterCA,
One of my favorite Stephen Sondheim lyrics is sung by a stripper with the improbable name of Mazeppa (he rhymes it with “shleppah”) in, of course, “Gypsy.” The song is titled “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” and it reminds me ...
Steered by the crisp direction of Francesca Zambello and the sure baton of John DeMain, this “Show Boat” fills the opera house stage in a tribute to an American musical classic.
Suzanne WeissMusicCA,
Y’all come on down to the levee folks. The “Show Boat” is in town and it’s a singin’, dancin’ romp. But is it an opera? Well, maybe more of an operetta, but who cares? In a spiffy production at San ...
Renata PoltFilmCA,
It's disorienting: San Francisco's Silent Film Festival has moved from its iconic mid-July position to the last weekend in May! What's going to enliven the doldrums of summer?
On the other hand, what better way ...
Like it or lump it, there's no denying that Tony Kushner's operatic family drama serves up Wagnerian themes.
Suzanne WeissTheaterCA,
Playwright Tony Kushner may go down in theatrical history as the Richard Wagner of the stage. The two, although separated by a century, have a lot in common. They both wrote very long works, sometimes too long to squeeze into ...
The tragedy of the Youngers is at home on this stage normally reserved for the Bard.
Suzanne WeissTheaterCA,
It has been more than half a century since Lorraine Hansberry’s iconic “A Raisin in the Sun” first took the stage, for those who saw it changing the way white America viewed the upward struggle of their African American neighbors. ...
This spare, pared-down tale is at its best when it depicts the trials of black South Africans under apartheid.
Suzanne WeissTheaterCA,
“The Suit” doesn’t fit as well as expected. With the renowned director Peter Brook’s name attached, one goes in expecting something magical like that long-ago “Midsummer Night’s Dream” or the “Marat/Sade” that set a standard for much that followed ...
Though performed with devotion and vitality, this collaboration between Mark Morris and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is not entirely well integrated.
Joanna G. HarrisDanceCA,
In her time, Isadora Duncan choreographed opera, among them Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice.” There is lovely pastoral dance in that work; Mark Morris has evoked her spirit and style in Handel’s “Acis and Galatea.” Noted as a "world premiere," this ...
An inventive concept joins two offbeat operas in a coup for Opera Parallèle.
Suzanne WeissMusicCA,
Just when you think it can’t get any better, amazingly it does. In its brief history Opera Parallèle, under the artistic direction of founder/conductor Nicole Paiement, has presented little-known contemporary works by Phillip Glass, Samuel Barber, John Harbison, Leonard Bernstein ...
