Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans with Dolora Zajick SFO was playing in San Francisco in 2006 when I happened to be there, and was simply magnificent. I don't know why it isn't done more often. Perhaps you need Dolora Zajick. She's waving her banner just as I read about.
Iphigénie en Tauride at SFO. This was great because of the wonderful performance of Susan Graham.
La Rondine SFO This opera only works with Angela Gheorghiu in 2007. This opera and production went on to the Met.
Simon Boccanegra at SFO In 2008 this performance with the magnificent Dmitri Hvorostovsky and our new maestro Luisotti successfully cured both my long time loathing of this opera and the decades long Verdi curse at the San Francisco Opera.
Bonesetter's Daughter at SFO Most of the critics didn't like this, but I found it very enjoyable with its mixture of oriental and western musical styles. It's based on a novel by Amy Tan and drew a largely Chinese audience.
Die Tote Stadt at SFO There were idiotic discussions about the coincidence of a red haired female and the Pre-Raphaelites. Honestly. Does that look Pre-Raphaelite to you? In spite of this it is actually a lovely opera which I have only seen this once.
2008 was an excellent year for Gockley.
Porgy and Bess at SFO Musically it was very exciting and starred Eric Owens* and Laquita Mitchell* in their SFO debuts. This was in 2009.
Il Trittico with Patricia Racette at SFO All three heroines were played and sung brilliantly by Patricia Racette. It was a tour de force. Be sure to play the film above.
La Fille de Regiment with the fabulous Diana Damrau and Juan Diego Flórez in 2009. We were lucky to get them.
Johan Botha's Otello at SFO Nicola Luisotti has once again broken the SFO Verdi curse. Soon we will not remember that it ever existed.
Die Walküre with Nina Stemme SFO This was 2010. Nina was especially wonderful and I enjoyed the production which ran recently in DC.
Lucrezia Borgia in 2011 starring Renée Fleming and Michael Fabiano was vocally a treat and a new opera for me.
Nadine Sierra Schwabacher Debut Recital in 2012.
Einstein on the Beach A piece of great historical importance that belongs in everyone's experiences. This was presented across the bay, but I understood it was sponsored by the San Francisco Opera.
I Capuleti e i Montecchi from the San Francisco Opera This is the production from Munich with different singers, Joyce DiDonato and Nicole Cabell.
Moby Dick at the San Francisco Opera In 2012 I declared this work by Jake Heggie to be a masterpiece. The emotional intensity was operatic.
Tales of Hoffmann from San Francisco I loved Polenzani as Hoffmann and of course Natalie Dessay.
Susannah at the SFO This is a famous American opera which I saw for the first time. I was disappointed to find that they had taken the Biblical morality tale against the evil elders and turned it into an anti female nonsense. I was still glad to have gotten to see it. 2014.
Partenope at SFO A Eurotrash production is often the thing that makes a Handel opera tolerable. This one in 2014 was exciting and just plain fun from beginning to end. We have two picture posts here and here. I smiled all the way through.
Les Troyens at the San Francisco Opera Also one of the great operas of 2015 with Susan Graham and Bryan Hymel.
La Ciociara by Marco Tutino starring Anna Catarina Antonacci was a new opera that I enjoyed.
This isn't everything worthy of mention, but I loved everything listed here. Perhaps I'll add more later.
No comments:
Post a Comment