The last time I saw Karita Mattila in “Jenůfa” she played the title role, a young village girl madly in…
Suzanne Weiss
Suzanne Weiss has been writing about the arts for the past 35 years. Formerly Arts Editor for the papers of Pioneer Press in the northern Chicago suburban area, her work also has appeared in Stagebill and Crain’s Chicago Business, among other publications. Since moving to the Bay Area she has reviewed theater, opera, dance and the occasional film for the San Mateo Times, “J” and is a regular contributor to CultureVulture. She is the author of “Glencoe, Queen of Suburbs.”
Suzanne passed away in 2016.
The trouble with Verdi’s “Don Carlo” always has been — like much of Wagner — too much of a good…
J.M. Barrie’s famed character Peter Pan probably is the ultimate statement on the wish for eternal youth. More than Ponce…
At the moment Jamie meets Cathy, she already has lost him. That’s the time-bending conceit of Jason Robert Brown’s terrific…
Someone is singing a sea chantey as the deck slowly rocks beneath the sailors’ feet. A properly-brought-up young English lad…
Most operas begin with an overture. Peter Maxwell Davies’ “The Lighthouse” opens with an interrogation, a police investigation surrounding the…
When I was a young college student I dated a lot of guys. But only one had my heart of…
The Alvin Ailey troupe is back at Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall looking as good as ever — maybe even a little…
There is a lot of depth to be found in banality. Especially if you dig under the dialogue of a…
I’ve been to many a party in my day but few can compare to “Dances at a Gathering,” Jerome Robbins’…
“Bubble bubble, toil and trouble” and for what? An evening of “sound and fury,” signifying, if not nothing, precious little….
“Champion” packs a punch. If Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s opera is not a complete knockout, it may be due…
Can a bowl of soup really save a life? Probably not, but it makes for some interesting speculation in Julia…
It’s the holidays. It’s “The Nutcracker.” So what else is new? Actually, quite a lot, depending on whose eyes you…