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…