SINCE 1999 A LIVE REVIEW SITE FOR OPERA, BALLET, CONCERTS, BROADCASTS, AND THEATRE
United States Various: Kronos Quartet (David Harrington, John Sherba [violins], Hank Dutt [viola], Paul Wiancko [cello]), Peni Candra Rini (voice), Leslie Gray, Andy McGraw, Midiyanto (shadow theater). Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley, 2.3.2024. (HS)
United States Various: Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Kevin J. Miller (piano). San Francisco Performances, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, 29.2.2024. (HS)
United States Stravinsky, Brahms: Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano), Nicholas Phan (tenor), Luca Pisaroni (baritone), Julia Fischer (violin), San Francisco Symphony / Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 23.2.2024. (HS)
San Francisco Opera takes a step back in the 2024-25 season
After a 2023-24 season that featured three significant and well-received new operas, San Francisco Opera this week announced a 2024-25 season with fewer performances and only one company premiere – The Handmaid’s Tale, which dates from 2000.
United States Various: Renée Fleming (soprano), Howard Watkins (piano). Cal Performances, Zellerbach Hall, University of California, Berkeley, 9.2.2024. (HS)
United States Various: Raehann Bryce-Davis (mezzo-soprano), Jeanne-Minette Cilliers (piano). Presented by San Francisco Performances, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, 27.1.2024. (HS)
United States Mahler: San Francisco Symphony / Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor). Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, 25.1.2024. (HS)
Stephen Sondheim’s self-reverential Here We Are
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim notoriously resisted the idea that his musicals were operas. He would recoil at any comparison between his score for Here We Are, the show he was still tweaking at his death two years ago, and Verdi’s for Falstaff, but it keeps nagging at me.