Contemporary Perspectives

"One of the most charming sopranos to ever grace an opera house. Hers was not the fake, transactional emotion that so often passes for charm today, but the real deal."

BY PAUL THOMASON
(read time ~ 5 minutes)

Mattiwilda Dobbs’ acclaimed 1955 debut with San Francisco Opera was one of the many historic accomplishments of the Atlanta-born soprano, who was also the first African American artist to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera and several European Opera Houses.

BY MAURICE B. WHEELER
(read time ~ 9 minutes)

"Marcia Davenport always seemed to be in the most interesting place at exactly the right time. ... Given her combination of music and writing experience it is perhaps inevitable that Davenport would end up on the radio during the early days of opera broadcasts. ... Today the best-known example of Davenport on the radio is her introduction to the San Francisco Opera’s 1936 broadcast of Act II of Die Walküre." 

BY PAUL THOMASON

(read time ~ 6 minutes)

"Optimism, in short supply when Die tote Stadt first came to the San Francisco Opera fourteen years ago, is in shorter supply today, and the need for it greater. Think of Korngold’s optimism as a synonym for beauty, readily accessible beauty, beauty of melody and texture, beauty that reminds us of the pleasures that humans can offer one another."

BY LARRY ROTHE

(read time ~ 8 minutes)

One of opera's most promising rising stars, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen discusses San Francisco Opera’s rich history of countertenor singing, beginning with the American premiere of one of the great operatic masterpieces of the 20th Century, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, starring Russell Oberlin as Oberon. 

BY ARYEH NUSSBAUM COHEN
(read time ~ 6 minutes)

"In San Francisco Opera’s 1977 production of Turandot, conducted by 24-year-old prodigy Riccardo Chailly, the lead roles were sung by two of the opera world’s biggest superstars, both in their prime and admired above all for the sheer sensuous beauty of their voices: 44-year-old Spaniard Montserrat Caballé and 42-year-old Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti."

BY MARK BURFORD

(read time ~ 8 minutes)

"Streaming San Francisco Opera’s Louise broadcast will surely delight everyone who loves French opera. If you were in the theater in 1999, savor this chance to relive the glories of that performance. And if Louise is new to you, prepare yourself for enchantment, Parisian style. Amusez-vous bien!"

BY ROGER PINES
(read time ~ 11 minutes)

"Very few operas successfully combine irony and pathos, but Shostakovich managed that remarkably in his Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.  As I relistened to the archival recording recently, over 40 years after first hearing the live performances during the 1981 Fall Season at San Francisco Opera, the importance of Shostakovich’s accomplishment struck me more profoundly than ever."

BY KIP CRANNA
(read time ~ 8 minutes)