EmilyStyle (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009
Rainy weather and a lot of relaxing this weekend. It really feels like the holidays now. On Friday, my whole office went out for drinks to celebrate a big week. We first shared some red wine, mussels and fries at Local . Then walked to Varnish which is a cool art gallery in an old brick warehouse with a full bar. Rob met us there for a drink. At nine, a bunch of us took the train to the Castro for...
oboeinsight (Free subscription) | 11/19/2009
Dan and I attended San Francisco Opera’s Otello on Tuesday. You can read Opera Tattler’s account, and then there’s another blogger’s thoughts from the same night we attended. Hmm … as is frequently the case, I heard and saw something so different. I dunno. I guess I’m just blind and deaf to some things. I [...]
Civic Center (Free subscription) | 11/19/2009
The San Francisco Opera supernumeraries held a season-ending party at Fort Mason last weekend, and the evening ended with a very funny skit by Charlie Lichtman (above, dressed as a deviled egg). Charlie's only spear carrying this year was in Verdi's "Otello," which is currently running at the opera house this month, but the lighting is so ridiculously dark during the entire production that...
Lee.org (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
Last week I got to attend “From The ‘Hood to the House”. This year, the Glide Church annual holiday festival was held at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House on the 12th. It was quite an affair with Maya Angelou, a huge church ensemble singing, dancers, musicians and Cecil Williams celebrating his 45th anniversary [...]
Mercury News (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
There are some flaws in the San Francisco Opera's production of 'Otello.'
Sacramento Bee (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
Tenor Johan Botha is making "Otello" his signature role. SAN FRANCISCO – There is a signature moment in Act 2 of Giuseppi Verdi's "Otello" in which the title character confronts his jealous demon – and becomes one with it. It can be a throwaway moment, or it can cement the drama of this four-act operatic masterpiece. On Sunday afternoon in San Francisco's War Memorial...
Girls In Tech (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
On the evening of Thursday, November 5th, the Chic Meets Geek event was held at the Automattic headquarters, home of Wordpress. Overlooking the sparkling bay, Chic Meets Geek brought together members of the San Francisco Opera BRAVO! Club and the Silicon Valley tech scene. The evening was one big convergence of mainstream arts and emerging tech, [...]
The Opera Tattler (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
* Notes * San Francisco Opera's last production of the year, Otello, opened this afternoon. Maestro Luisotti had the orchestra sounding richly fluent. The English horn, bassoon, and bass were particularly lovely. The brass instruments also had some good moments,...
Vancouver Opera Blog (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
Photo credit by Clive Barda & San Francisco Opera We love it when our friends visit other cities. And that's because they love telling us all about the amazing operas they saw! D.S. Spring and Diana Herbst spent last week in San Francisco and was at the opera. Three nights in a row! That's devotion. D.S. and Diana thoroughly enjoyed the San Francisco Opera and were literally blown away by both...
The Opera Tattler (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Mezzo-soprano Tichina Vaughn and baritone Marco Vratogna are scheduled to sing in Aida at San Francisco Opera in Fall of 2010. Luisotti will conduct, and one has heard rumors that Carlo Ventre and Eric Owens are also in the cast....
The Opera Tattler (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
* Notes * Last Friday Molly Fillmore replaced Nadja Michael as San Francisco Opera's penultimate performance of Salome this season. Evidently Michael had a throat infection, and Fillmore had to be flown in from Phoenix. I was not in attendance,...
San Francisco Sentinel (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Baritone Marco Vratogna and soprano Zvetelina Vassileva co-star in Verdi’s masterpiece opening this Sunday at the War Memorial Opera House By Seán Martinfield Sentinel Editor and Publisher Photo by Lynn Imanaka San Francisco Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi’s masterwork OTELLO, opening Sunday afternoon, November 8th, with six subsequent performances through December 2nd at the War Memorial...
Out West Arts (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
Diana Damrau and JDF vs. the worldPhoto: Terrence McCarthy/SF Opera 2009If there was anything that could possibly wash the bad taste of San Francisco Opera’s Salome out of my mouth after Saturday, it would have to be Laurent Pelly’s magnificent staging of La Fille du Régiment. After seeing the world, the production arrived with its tenor, Juan Diego Flórez, still attached...
Opera Today (Free subscription) | 10/26/2009
There is a buzz of excitement in the War Memorial Opera House on Friday nights that is akin to the Saturday afternoon buzz at the Met.
The Opera Tattler (Free subscription) | 10/25/2009
* Notes * The fourth San Francisco Opera Costume Sale continues today from 11 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, and was clearly well-publicized. The queue started well before 9 in the morning yesterday and extended south on...
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