Monthly Archives: December 2001

REVIEW: SAN FRANCISCO OPERA

The chimera of the long-forgotten masterwork, languishing in history’s dustbin then rediscovered and newly acclaimed, fires any opera producer’s hopes and ambitions. Surely no opera has accumulated a thicker coat of dust – at least in the world annals – … Continue reading

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Courage Beyond the Call

The Philharmonic’s ongoing ”Schoenberg Prism,“ the long-overdue tribute to the resident who endured only limited celebrity status here in his lifetime, leans with undue caution toward the composer‘s more ”accessible“ side — the post-romantic works like Transfigured Night, Pelleas and … Continue reading

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SAN FRANCISCO OPERA REPORT

Within five minutes of the opening skirmish in the San Francisco Opera’s jihad against The Merry Widow, its new script had touched upon such non-Pontevedrian matters as rolling blackouts and mutual funds. Such were the with-it fancies of contemporary playwright … Continue reading

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Minimal Merriment

The Merry Widow here, The Merry Widow there: twice in four days, and twice betrayed. Shouldn’t there be a Purple Heart for critics? Having found much to deplore in the San Francisco Opera‘s current jihad against Franz Lehar’s endearing and … Continue reading

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