THE SING-AND-SWING HISTORICAL OPERA, IN DOUBLE-BILL

THE SING-AND-SWING HISTORICAL OPERA, IN DOUBLE-BILL

This operatic double-bill ended in rousing fashion, with the closing “Balls” improbably linkinga historic tennis match with singing in technological wizardry beyond anything we’ve encountered before, even on major stages. In “Balls,” imagine reenacting the historic 1973 women’s lib tennis victory of Billie Jean King (without tennis balls) over the outspoken sexist Bobby Riggs, the single most publicized event of women’s sports coming of age, with 90 million viewing it worldwide. This required vintage televideo images, a videographer along the…

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STAND BACK, MALES: TIME FOR ‘DOS MUJERES’

STAND BACK, MALES: TIME FOR ‘DOS MUJERES’

A rousing celebration of Hispanic culture came off with the S.F. Ballet’s “Dos mujeres” program, continuing offstage well into the night before the large and wildly enthusiastic crowd. The entire Opera House was decorated high and low with multi-color South-of-the-Border images, including the oversize flowers enhancing the box seats. The new Artistic Director Tamara Rojo hit the nail on the cabeza with her unique pairing, one celebrating the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in the US-premiere gala spectacle “Broken Wings,” the…

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FRONT LINES OF MUSIC, AND TCHAIKOVSKY TOO

FRONT LINES OF MUSIC, AND TCHAIKOVSKY TOO

ROHNERT PARK, CA—-A petite figure from New Zealand brought down the house at the Santa Rosa Symphony, playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with an irresistible engaging spirit. Disavowing the powerhouse approach to this concerto, Geneva Lewis set out spinning themes in soft, poetic terms. Her silky play grew in momentum and force through the imposing first movement, ever more climactic, in her congenial collaboration with the orchestra and conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong. In a rare show of enthusiasm prior to the…

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A TIMELESS HEROINE FOR OUR TIMES

A TIMELESS HEROINE FOR OUR TIMES

BERKELEY, CA—-“Anna Karenina” may stem from 19th-century literature, but she is very much a woman of our era, led by her heart, for which she is condemned by a starchy old-line society. Her tale has been taken up by many ballet choreographers since the middle of the past century, none of them more brilliant than Yuri Possokhov, whose mellifluous flow of major-production dancers in his five-year-old “Anna” more than compensates for his insatiable thirst for scenelets—13 of them in all,…

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TURNING THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ONTO SOMBER EASTER WEEK

TURNING THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ONTO SOMBER EASTER WEEK

BERKELEY—I don’t know if it was more revelation or intoxication. But American Bach’s lucid performance of the St. John Passion offered gobs of both. Yes, even Bach can be intoxicating with his lesser-known Passion oratorio—–usually running in 2nd place to the St. Matthew Passion, which for me is the greatest baroque opera of all, even in a sacred-concert version. The St. John came much earlier, dealing with the suffering/death of Christ in a more detached, consolatory and lyrical way. Clearly,…

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HARNESSING MULTIPLE SENSES FOR SYMPHONY: AN ENIGMATIC PAIRING

HARNESSING MULTIPLE SENSES FOR SYMPHONY: AN ENIGMATIC PAIRING

Back in the 20th century, we acquired television. And in the 21st, we have now moved on to smellevision, fulfilling suppressed aspirations of 19th century composer Alexander Scriabin. It was a long time coming. Bathing in choreographed fragrances for the first time in memory, the S.F. Symphony treated its patrons to a multi-sensory extravaganza of Scriabin’s 20-minute “Prometheus: Poem of Fire” music, with brilliant colored lights, and pleasant smells on cue piped into Davies Hall. This was as much a…

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OLD-NEW FORMS IN STRAVINSKY, HURDLING RIGHT OVER THE ROMANTICS

OLD-NEW FORMS IN STRAVINSKY, HURDLING RIGHT OVER THE ROMANTICS

Charging out of the symphony starting gates was a tumultuous burlesque-theater from Stravinsky. Fasten seat belts NOW! The SF Symphony spotlighted a pair of composing bedfellows, separated by a canyon of musical evolution and comportment. Stravinsky, OK. But it was the veteran German soloist Julia Fischer in the great Brahms Violin Concerto that brought about the sold-out house. Our misfortune it is that she rarely ventures this far west from her home bailiwick. Stravinsky’s complete “Pulcinella” (1920), also rarely heard…

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COULD ‘SWAN LAKE’ BE AN ALLEGORICAL TALE??

COULD ‘SWAN LAKE’ BE AN ALLEGORICAL TALE??

A wondrous night unfolded at the Opera House as the S.F. Ballet’s swans floated in gracefully and flew off to the cheers of a sold-out house. For many, “Swan Lake” is the pinnacle of all ballet love-drama fantasies, a fairy tale that grips the heart with great endearment. This time led by a very promising ballerina out of Sweden, Nikisha Fogo. The fairy-tale plot: innocent maidens are scooped up by the evil winged sorcerer Von Rothbart, transformed magically into swans,…

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 BALLET PACKAGE: A LONDON-TO-S.F. VALENTINE

 BALLET PACKAGE: A LONDON-TO-S.F. VALENTINE

Without question, the S.F. Ballet is flying high with the love duo Valentine, “Marguerite and Armand.” It was flying into the troposphere Saturday when danced by SFB superstar Yuan Yuan Tan in a farewell performance. The Opera House was sold out wall-to-wall for the Feb. 10 show, vibrant with repeated bows for the ovations at the final curtain. How apt for the Opera House, where many patrons recognize right away the synopsis of Verdi’s opera “La Traviata,” both drawn from…

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IT ISN’T JUST YOUR OLD BALL GAME 

IT ISN’T JUST YOUR OLD BALL GAME 

BERKELEY—Dramatize the ancient Mayan saga, and do so at your own risk. The intrepid and ageless faculty composer Cindy Cox is a risk-taker, creating a dazzling oratorio-like version of the epic Mayan myth “Popol Vuh,” a generous concert portion of which was unveiled at Hertz Hall by the Eco Ensemble Feb. 3. It’s an animist story of man versus the evil forces of the Lords of Death that threaten to wipe out every one. This could well be the oldest…

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