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Month: November 2015

MEDIEVAL NUREMBERG BARGING INTO THE 19TH CENTURY

MEDIEVAL NUREMBERG BARGING INTO THE 19TH CENTURY

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Wagner’s Opulent ‘Meistersinger’ in Vivid Dimensions The San Francisco Opera got its act together in more ways than one for Wagner’s “Meistersinger” opera, serving up music theater instead of the old-fashioned static sequence of singers. Furthermore, if any one could tone down the overachieving brass section in the pit, we’d be close to perfection for this massive 5½ hours show. This marks the eighth time since 1960 that the SFO has presented the quasi-historical work. Having seen/heard each reprise, I…

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FILIPINO TANDEM TALES IN A.C.T.’S ‘MONSTRESS’

FILIPINO TANDEM TALES IN A.C.T.’S ‘MONSTRESS’

Everything is new about “Monstress”, the production of the American Conservatory Theater. The venue is the new Strand Theatre, the script comes from two short stories adapted for the stage and the subject is Filipino-American life both in San Francisco and in Manila. “Monstress” comes from two short stories by Lysley Tenorio. They have been adapted by Philip Kan Gotanda and Sean San José for the stage. Its music is sung beautifully by Melody Butiu and dancing also accompanies the…

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BIGGER-THAN-LIFE ORATORIO, ABOUT ALL HUMANITY

BIGGER-THAN-LIFE ORATORIO, ABOUT ALL HUMANITY

Garrop’s Eloquent World Premiere Given by Local Chorus The choral-orchestral “Terra Nostra” given its world premiere here Nov. 14 is a colossal effort, the largest-scale oratorio introduced in these parts in decades. The eloquent work running some 80 minutes is a secular one in three parts, from the world’s early beginnings and the dawn of humanity. Had composer Stacy Garrop been content with the first two parts and stopped, I might have been jumping off bridges, given the ending lament…

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IN OAKLAND, THE DEAD COME BACK TO LIFE

IN OAKLAND, THE DEAD COME BACK TO LIFE

Via Asian Operas New and Old OAKLAND—Festival Opera pulled off a double surprise, venturing to Oakland with a pair of unfamiliar Asian-themed one-act operas. The precarious east-west blending of the music came off better than expected, the western tuning pairing up with traditional Indian sitar and its myriad microtones. The execution of the works on stage however left a lot to be desired when heard Nov. 14, apart from the foundation-shaking bass of the veteran Philip Skinner playing Death. That…

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NEW TWISTS IN BOY-GIRL MUSICAL

NEW TWISTS IN BOY-GIRL MUSICAL

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“Dogfight” at the SFPlayhouse is a “Musical Love Story,” the old-fashioned kind of American musical where boy meets girl, there is a crisis and then they re-meet and everything is perfect. But this has a twist and even though it is placed during the Vietnam wartime in 1963 it feels very modern. The music is modern as well. The music and lyrics of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul come from the school of Steven Sondheim or even Leonard Bernstein with…

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CONTEMPORARY GALLIC-BERKELEY LINKAGE

CONTEMPORARY GALLIC-BERKELEY LINKAGE

Parisian Ensemble Visits the West Coast BERKELEY—An earth-shaking, all-contemporary, all-imported concert was saved with two ensemble pieces offering real music, not just sonic experiments. For the first time since its founding in 1976, Pierre Boulez’s renowned Ensemble Intercontemporain came to Cal from Paris, borrowing a good many percussion instruments from the university for the occasion. For Cal Performances, the booking marks a milestone. Musicians from Paris, yes, but only one of the four composers, Franck Bedrossian, was French. Ascribe it…

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