Archive for the ‘Operafest’ Category
10/07/17 – Don Pasquale – 1pm
San Francisco Opera DON PASQUALE Sparkling with virtuosic singing and playful humor, this boisterous comedy pits the miserly Don Pasquale against his nephew Ernesto and Ernesto’s sweetheart, the crafty young Norina. Laurent Pelly’s topsy-turvy, rotating set and inventive 20th-century costumes perfectly capture the farcical fun. Music by Gaetano Donizetti | Libretto by Giovanni Ruffini and Gaetano Donizetti […]
9/30/17 – Andrea Chenier – 1pm
San Francisco Opera ANDREA CHÉNIER An ardent poet and a young noblewoman are passionately attracted only to be separated by the turmoil and terror of the French Revolution. Music Director Nicola Luisotti conducts this powerful, melodic score in a lavish period production by acclaimed director David McVicar. Music by Umberto Giordano | Libretto by Luigi […]
9/23/17 – Madama Butterfly – 1pm
San Francisco Opera MADAME BUTTERFLY Cultures clash when a trusting young woman marries an American naval officer stationed in Nagasaki. Puccini’s gut-wrenching music takes the audience on an emotionally charged journey through innocence, betrayal and sacrifice towards a heartbreaking finale. Music by Giacomo Puccini | Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa Sung in Italian with […]
9/16/17 – Aida – 1pm
San Francisco Opera AIDA Verdi’s grand Egyptian epic returns in a bold new production inspired by contemporary artist RETNA. This intimate love story of an Egyptian military hero, Radames, and a captured Ethiopian princess, Aida, features San Francisco Opera favorites Brian Jagde and Leah Crocetto. Music by Giuseppe Verdi | Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni Sung in […]
09/09/17 – La Gioconda @ 1pm – San Francisco Opera begins!
San Francisco Opera La Gioconda Opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli Libretto by Arrigo Boito Based on the play “Angelo, Tyrant of Padua” by Victor Hugo sung in Italian The archival production of “La Gioconda” was recorded in 1979 CAST PLACE AND TIME: Seventeenth-century Venice *Role debut †U.S. opera debut Conductor Bruno Bartoletti […]
09/02/17 – The Ghosts of Versailles – 1PM
LA Opera on air The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano Libretto by William M. Hoffman Sung in English. Three hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission. Trapped in the spirit world, the ghost of Marie Antoinette bitterly reflects on her final suffering. Her favorite playwright tries to entertain the melancholy queen with the continuing adventures […]
08/26/17 – Marriage of Figaro – 1PM
LA Opera on air The Marriage of Figaro by by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte Sung in Italian. Three hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission. The wily barber and part-time matchmaker has finally fallen in love, but–like everything else in Figaro’s life–it’s complicated. On the eve of Figaro’s marriage to Susanna, […]
08/19/17 – Barber of Seville – 1PM
LA Opera on air The Barber of Seville by by Gioachino Rossini Libretto by Cesare Sterbini Sung in Italian. Three hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission. Dashing Count Almaviva has lost his heart to the spunky Rosina, whose doddering guardian is determined to marry her himself. It’s Figaro to the rescue, as the resourceful barber conjures […]
08/12/17 – Tales of Hoffman – 1pm
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN By Jacques Offenbach IN FRENCH Approximate running time: three hours, 35 minutes, including two intermissions front page photo: So Young Park as Olympia, with Rodell Rosel (at right, behind her) as Spalanzani in Act One of LA Opera’s “The Tales of Hoffmann.” Photo: Ken Howard / LA Opera OVERVIEW he sensational Diana […]
8/05/17 – Macbeth @1pm – LA Opera Returns!
MACBETH By Giuseppe Verdi IN ITALIAN Approximate running time: three hours, including one intermission. front page photo credit: Ekaterina Semenchuk (Lady Macbeth) and Placido Domingo (Macbeth) in LA Opera’s 2016 production of Verdi’s “Macbeth.” (Photo: Karen Almond / LA Opera) OVERVIEW Plácido Domingo and James Conlon unite again in a powerful adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic thriller. […]
