Reviews

Small-Scale Tales
September 22, 2007
By Lisa Hirsch, for San Francisco Classical Voice

The death of Jacques Offenbach before the 1881 premiere of Tales of Hoffmann left opera companies with a confusing mass of performance choices. In the end though, the textual decisions matter far less than whether a company succeeds musically with the piece. San Francisco Lyric Opera’s new production, heard on Saturday at the second performance, succeeds wildly, with splendid singing and playing, effective stage direction, clever sets, and fine conducting....The surprise of the evening was A.J. Glueckert as Arturo. Already well-trained at his young age, he is a tenor to watch, with a ringing upper register that, if it continues to develop, will be ideal for Rossini. The supporting roles were all well done and the chorus sang effectively...

For the complete review, please click here.

Transfigured tenor in ‘Hoffman’ lead
September 25, 2007
By Janos Gereben, for The Examiner

The San Francisco Lyric Opera premiere of Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffman” on Friday featured an excellent cast, well beyond what you’d expect from a small regional company, but there was one performance that impressed to no end.

Just a month ago, Richard Byrne sang the role of the Stage Manager in Festival Opera’s presentation of Ned Rorem’s “Our Town,” impressing with his diction and expert handling of Rorem’s “Ivesian American dissonance.” This time, he sang Hoffman as a nonpareil “French tenor,” with the right timbre and projection, clean vowels and high, pure, clear-as-a-bell sound...

For the complete review, please click here.

Lighting a Fire Under Lucia
May 29, 2007
By Michael Zwiebach, for San Francisco Classical Voice

You don't have to be a critical genius to figure out that Talise Trevigne, the star of San Francisco Lyric Opera's new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, has a major-league voice and star quality to match. She lit a fire under Saturday's satisfying, if basic, performance at the Florence Gould Theater at the Legion of Honor. But hers was far from the only positive contribution of the evening. This is a well-tuned show, amply repaying its bargain-basement ticket price...

...The surprise of the evening was A.J. Glueckert as Arturo. Already well-trained at his young age, he is a tenor to watch, with a ringing upper register that, if it continues to develop, will be ideal for Rossini. The supporting roles were all well done and the chorus sang effectively.

For the complete review, please click here.

Lovely Lucia
May 28, 2007
By Janos Gereben, for The Examiner

Some sopranos singing the title role of “Lucia di Lammermoor” work their way up to the great climactic Mad Scene (and some die there ... or before), but not Talise Trevigne. This young, beautiful soprano from San Jose sang a “Lucia” on fire from the first note to the last Friday night, in a world-class performance in circumstances that couldn’t be humbler...

...On her way to a big career — and roles in London, at the opening of the Sacramento Symphony’s season, then in Birmingham and Chicago — she is in San Francisco, through Saturday, singing “Lucia.” Don’t miss it.

For the complete review, please click here.

Overpowering the Stage
February 23, 2007
By Janos Gereben, for San Francisco Classical Voice

The San Francisco Lyric Opera's new production of Gounod's intimately lyrical, 1867 Roméo et Juliette is mostly not. Lyrical, that is. Instead of hushed melodies on gossamer wings, what goes down in the Florence Gould Theatre at the Legion of Honor (through March 3) is blood and guts — not a Berlioz wannabe, but something halfway between a Verdi revenge scene and Wagner's Valkyries riding high...

...And yet, literally underneath, there was also restrained, consistent interpretation of the quietly beautiful opera at Friday’s performance. It came from where the pit would be, if the Florence Gould had one. If you focused on the orchestra, you could hear sensitive and effective interpretations of Gounod from concertmaster Rita Lee, violist Zamil Sadiq, and cellist Ellen Sanders (and darn good performances from the rest of the small orchestra).

For the complete review, please click here.